


The White Soul of The Little Thief

by The_Night_Owl



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mobtale, Blood and Gore, Character Death, F/F, F/M, Multi, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-15
Updated: 2017-12-15
Packaged: 2019-02-15 05:39:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 6
Words: 22,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13024398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Night_Owl/pseuds/The_Night_Owl
Summary: The world was a lonely place. Well, at least, for you it was. Street life in these extremes kinda took a toll on people's sense of companionship and morality. Trust was a luxury you couldn't afford when there wasn't enough to share.You'd learned that the hard way.Ebbot city was a pretty large place--a home for humans, humans and monsters. Though the two species lived on one another's doorsteps, they never really intermingled much more than necessary. A tense sort of facade, pleasantries bordering heavily on pretences. With a heavy presence of organised crime hiding6away in the shadows, the streets thrived with poorly veiled gang culture.None of that really mattered to you though. Why would it? When you weren't busy scrounging up pennies for scraps to keep your starving body from kicking the bucket, you were busier still dodging the unsavoury characters lurking in the streets.That, and trying to wash the blood from your hands.You didn't have time to care.





	1. Just Another Day

_Damn_ it was freezing. If you had the cash to spare ya'd need to buy yourself a pair of mitts. Maybe a coat, or a blanket--something to keep the chill out.

 It had been a very, _very_ long day, and that was putting it mildly. People didn't take very kindly to street rats, especially when that particular street rat was way past her sell-by-date. People didn't take to grown ass adults begging on their pristine pretty streets as well as they did kids. Nah, kids were tolerated, but people your age? No chance. People like you were the stain on the rest of societies clean white cloth, the filthy beggars that thrived in muck and trickery and everything bad about the world.

 Now, you were never one to... How you say, mope about their circumstances. In a way, you were thankful, you'd been given your role, and who were you to deny them what they wanted of ya? Most folk who had the time and money sorted spent their whole lives looking for a "purpose", a reason. With their full bellies and warm beds. You were lucky, you'd had it thrust upon you since birth. You didn't have to worry about some sort of grand plan--you had your part. Who or what were you to say otherwise? Just some poor sorry sap washed up on the side of the road.

It just so happened, you almost enjoyed your little gig, and damn if you weren't good at it too. If you weren't, you'd have died a very long time ago. 

 The good part about being a nothing to everyone's eyes, was that, for the most part, you were invisible. Something for better off folk to avoid looking towards. This was good. Because if they were looking, they'd see your hands in their pockets.

 As any good thief would know, the best picks were almost always the working class. The rich hicks drew way to much attention too quick. Nah, the working class might not be the most rewarding hits but they drew less eyes to the mark. Big wigs cared for their lackeys almost as little as they cared about kids starving on the streets. 

 This fact, among many others, is what had brought you here. Downtown, where all the quaint, little cafes and coffee shops for the middle men were tucked away. It was usually pretty busy at this time of day, just a touch away from bleeding into the evening. Everyone with day-jobs tended to mill around during this period, maybe just having left their workplaces for a quick bite to eat. To recharge and enjoy the sun fading in the sky, casting that murky blend of purple and gold. Pretty, if you had the time for it. 

 Another type of gold stirred for you at this time of day. When everyone was tired. They tended to give a little more leeway for you in terms of letting their guards fall. Take this hit, for example, bone boy, sitting happily out in the fresh air. Lounging away on the cafés porch, sipping a cup of what smelled like coffee, stretched out and enjoying the days newspaper. Had you been able to stop, take the time to look at it yourself, you'd probably wouldn't have. You needed this hit, you were hungry, and you couldn't read anyway. 

 Hunched over, adorned in the reasonably put together rags you'd scrounged up over the years from wheelie bins. It was easy enough to play the pathetic lost soul. Shivering pathetically in an act that wasn't quite so pretend, it was even easier to "trip" right next to his table. Sprawling across the pavement with a whimper, murmuring "s-sorry's" and "didn't mean 't" as you scrambled to pick yourself up. Surprisingly, the poor skeleton smuck was all too eager to help pick your sorry ass up. Eyes blind to the fingers slipping into his open messenger bag as he peeled you from the floor. Barely flinching as the mud and blood smeared against his cleanly pressed dress shirt--you had landed a bit harder than you'd intended. In the cold, you felt every nick and scrape of the asphalt against your skin, though it was hard to hide the excitement you felt at the prospect of maybe a hot meal in your very near future. 

 "Oh my! Are you alright, tiny human? That was quite a nasty fall, is anything broken? Would you like me to escorts you to a hospital?" the skeleton monster flustered, gloved hands feather light against your delicate bones. Almost as if he was afraid of breaking you at the slightest touch. His voice was quite high for what you assumed to be a man, but it was warm. The gentleness, the kindness, it almost made you feel guilty of robbing the sweet monster blind. 

Almost. 

 "N-nah 'm swell mister, sorry I-I just wasn' watchin' where I was putt'n' my feet--" you stammered, eyes flickering between his eyesockets and his hands gripping yours. Guilt was gnawing at your insides. Or was that hunger? You felt it it your throat, an empty, dry kind of feeling. Looking him in the eye was something you couldn't quite bring yourself to do, it was much more fun, less of a chore when they were assholes. Made it feel more like justice. You hadn't felt warmth like that since... That person went away. You sighed at the thought, the cold that you loathed so much, the cold took everything away. 

 As you staggered away, the monster seemed torn to let you go. Arms still hovering midair as though he regretted the decision already, though he reluctantly allowed you to retreat into the gloom of the alleyway. You didn't dare examine your loot until you were well, well out of sight. 

Thankfully, for your conscience, the rest of the evening was spent swiping from far less accommodating types. One in particular going as far to swipe at you before a kind human woman intervened. Condescendingly fawning over the "poor, poor street urchin", tutting the man shameful enough to attack the mindless creature just trying to get by. You'd noticed, over time, that the monsters seemed a lot less nasty towards folk of your disposition. Which was funny since the humans tended to preach about how awful they were. 

It made you wonder who the real monsters were. 

 Monsters had been around for, well, as long as you could remember. Probably before that too, though you hadn't had the luxury nor the recourses to study up on human-monster history. From what you could tell, the city was mostly split between the two races, sure they'd hang around the same places but mingling wasn't really a smiled upon happening. Each keeping to themselves unless maybe when money was involved, though you made it a point to steer clear from the higher ups in the criminal community. 

It was a tall order, since the streets were just littered with gang culture. Or whatever the cozies had dubbed it now. The point was a lot of real dangerous people were lurking about, and you wanted no part of it, head or tail. Well. That wasn't entirely the case. You did involve yourself--though, you strictly remained an anonymous party in your... Services. 

 Turns out, feather light touches and stealthy movements made the framework for a particularly less innocent skill-set. It paid well, whenever you found a willing customer- and boy howdy there were plenty. Only, it was safest to keep the buisness to the bare minimum, a last resort when you had no other choice. Which, unfortunately, happened more often than you were comfortable with. Hey, pick pocketing only worked when folks weren't wise to it. After a while, people got careful, and careful got you killed. At least, when it was other people doing it. 

 How fitting that prolonging your own life had taken away those of so many others. 

 Was it worrying that the filthy buisness didn't even make your stomach churn anymore? How suited you were for the act? Almost as though you were made for it. Really though, you reasoned, you were nothing but the messenger, the intent didn't belong in your hands. Your hands were the cleaner of the bunch by that logic, even if only by a little. 

 You'd never once shown your face to any of the associates you'd worked under, and those that had weren't really in the position to talk about it anymore. Being under the buisness end of your bloody talents. 

 A nameless assassin. 

 By the time your feet decided enough was enough, it was already long past dark out. People has mostly retired for the night, with a few wandering dunks and loiterers still milling about here and there. It was time to go home. It was lucky you had one to call so. 

Well, you say "home", it was after all, but that wasn't quite painting the right picture for what it really was. Home was a condemned building hidden away in the slums. It'd been left to rot for years, and was falling apart so bad nobody else had been willing to tuck under its roof, except for you, that is. 

It wasn't all that bad, to be completely honest. It was a damn sight warmer than the street, and it offered decent shelter from the elements. It was large too, having once been some sort of apartment complex back in its day, though now a lot of the interior had caved in due to years of damp and neglect. On the off chance the rest of it ever came crashing down, you'd settled yourself up on the top floors. It was a climb, yes, but it offered protection against wandering nasties. The view wasn't bad either. 

 You'd taken the risk on the way back to duck into one of the friendlier stores to grab a bite to settle your poor stomach. Your eyes couldn't make out much detail from the place, malnutrition did that, but there was a lot of purple, and it was clean. Impeccably so, with dainty little bug themed decorations dotted around the place. It suited, since the lady who ran it was a spider monster, which kinda gave the whole themed gig a unique sense of charm. 

 The spider lady herself was very feminine in her mannerisms, many hands always gracefully handling her wares with the... bottom? Pair remaining resolutely folded across her front, hands overlapping midway at her waist. She always seemed to be talking to someone, but you couldn't quite make out who, but you'd ever heard them respond, even though they apparently did so. All you knew was that she, with her black hair tied back in neatly kept buns, bows and all to boot, was nice. Well, more like she was the type to be nice to anyone with the cash, but she knew she wanted it, and never acted too good for any customer base she could get. As long as you had the _dough_ , she'd provide dough. 

 As you ordered, you took a moment to appreciate the woman's tidy appearance. A small spark of awe towards the woman had always been nestled into your brain, but watching her was almost a work of art in itself. Not a single movement was out of place. Everything had a purpose, almost like some sort of dance, the grace and fluidity of her well practiced movement something you took great pleasure in admiring. She was everything you couldn't be. Right there, right in front of you. 

 "We thank you for your purchase deerie~ come again, now!" she called as you pushed open the door, offering her a small smile as you ducked out into the street. All five eyes keeping a steady focus on your movements as you left, glinting softly in the dimming daylight.

   Gritting your teeth at the chill, the wind was ferocious today, and bit at your lukewarm flesh, sapping what little warmth you had left as it went. Making you all the more thankful for the paper back crinkled to your chest. Pastries weren't the healthiest of options, but were high in much needed calories. Besides. You figured after everything, you deserved the treat. The smell of baked goods and too-sweet icing clung to you like a perfume in the wind. 

 On the way home, you took that familiar route just out of curiosity. Though you refused to admit to yourself that a small part of you itched to return there for more than just a simple whim. That you yearned for a small fraction of that nostalgic feeling again. You were too far gone to allow yourself that, it wasn't safe to start thinking that way. 

Not anymore. 

 You were surprised to find that the bag was still sitting in that same spot, just under the cafe table. The white cloth covering the small, round surface looking untouched, apart from the stagnant coffee sitting to one side. The skeleton himself nowhere in sight. Part of you felt slightly put down at that, though it was probably better that way. Especially if he had realized by now you'd frisked him of his wallet, which you unsteadily slipped back into its rightful place amongst a bed of brightly colored papers. 

 You hesitated for a few moments, trying to convince yourself better of what you were about to do. Before slowly reaching into your bag, gingerly placing a small donut inside of the open zipper. Before shooting upright, walking briskly away before you could change your mind. A small token, a faceless thank-you gift. Though, even despite yourself, you were smiling. Why had you done that? You couldn't afford to spare what little you had, especially food-wise. So why had you felt so compelled to return that kindness to someone who obviously wasn't in need of it? 

 Honestly, you weren't quite even sure what it was you were thanking him for. Though you couldn't bring yourself to regret the action as much as you should. Stupidity like that, in a world like this, it got people killed. You didn't want to be next in line to join that tally. 

 Convincing yourself into a foul mood wasn't too difficult after that. Of course it wasn't. It had been a stupid thing to do! Maybe hunger had driven you delirious? You kept turning over that moment in your head as you stomped towards home. The relief the action brought a poor compensation for the stinging of grit grinding into your bare feet. 

 Your entire body was aching in places that shouldn't ache by the time you reached the crumbling brick fence of your "house". Folding the paper bags top tightly before tossing it over the side. Jumping up as high as you could to follow, hauling yourself up and over before landing heavily on your side. You barely even felt the impact, with how numb your poor body had become. Maybe it was time to start rooting around for a few more clothes. Surely somebody would have thrown some more stuff out by now-- maybe even a coat! If not, you could always layer up. It wasn't like you'd ever cared about appearances anyway. 

 The entrance to the apartment complex had long since rotted away. The empty doorway standing wide open like a gaping maw. The light of day doing nothing to pierce the gloom, leaving it a nightmarish void in the dusk. You walked straight in, unperturbed, eyes taking a while to adjust to the complete lack of any source of light. 

 When you finally managed to blink away the inky blackness, you continued onwards, shrugging past the decaying furniture, wet with damn and mold. The air was warmer inside, though stale with the stench of rot and mildew which brought tears to your eyes no matter how many times the scent invaded your nostrils. A few surviving relics still littered the halls, though most had long since caved in, leaving most impassable, whatever left being barely held together by corroding steel at jagged edges. 

 Patches of the peeling wallpaper still held onto frames of warped paintings that had been too damaged to even attempt at selling. The partially melted faces staring eerily at you through the flaking paint. Following you as you passed, the building itself like a long dead creature, who's ghosts still wandered its halls. 

 The climb up to your room was more than enough of a challenge. You were a good climber, it was a skill that had come to be useful throughout your life. It was a safety blanket for you, one of the small things that have you an edge. It was empowering, to know that no matter how bad things got pick pocketing in the streets, you always had a way out. As long as escape was an option, you'd always have a chance. 

 You let a long, loud groan once you'd made it safely to the top. Rolling flat on your back, wheezing as you allowed yourself rest, spluttering slightly as you sucked in greedy breaths through your mouth. You couldn't even bring yourself to stand after that, so you crawled the rest of the way to you room. Collapsing face-first into the grimy mattress with the bottom half of your body still lying against the floor. 

Sleep came almost instantly. Your prize clutched to your still heaving chest, as slumber took you to a land far, far away. 

 At least, it _would_ have had it gotten the chance. 

**"Evenin', bucko, nice night, huh?"**


	2. Making Your Escape?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You meet a pair of skeletons, one in particular familiar. The other, not so much, and very, very less friendly.

You felt every single muscle in your body tense at the voices. Heart juddering to a full stop, before rapidly picking up it'd pace. Sending your blood pumping almost painfully through your body too fast. The sound of it rushing in your ears as you tore yourself upright. Suddenly, the fatigue of the day didn't seem all too bad after all.

 The sight before your gave you chills that had nothing to do with the cold. Blinking away the fuzziness that your fee second of unconsciousness had caused, you desperately willed your eyes to adjust. The sound of your precious food source rolling along the floor briefly grabbed your attention, and your tired eyes followed the rolling muffin along the dusty floor. The quiet sound deafening, until it thudded softly to a stop, settling quietly against the boot of a large, shiny black shoe. Barely visible in the gloom, but unmistakably there.

 You could feel the blood pumping too fast in your veins as your eyes trailed upwards, following the pant legs up until your eyes settles on a... Distinct lack thereof. Featureless, deep black pits, void of anything--so dark that it seemed to suck in whatever light there was left. Two, big black eye-sockets, and, as if that wasn't nightmarish enough, the wide grin below it finished the picture. Ear to ear, filled with too perfect, large, teeth, too large to be human. Deep set in a skull that almost glowed in the dim light, still, that eerie smile never shifted, as if plastered to the skeletons face. Void of mirth, but plenty full of menace.

 "don't y'know it's rude to sleep when ya got guest over lil' bird?" the monster quipped. Voice deep and low, richer than any voice you'd ever heard. Though, with a noticeably sinister edge to it, guarded. You felt ready to vomit.

 "not much of a talker huh? That's cool, I can roll with that" the skeleton monster nodded, seemingly unperturbed by your immense discomfort. Stepping forwards, casually, moving lazily but with an element of grace that probably came to those without muscles to bother straining. "so, you're probably wondering what I'm doing here, right?" he continued, barely bothering to glance in your direction before turning heel, reaching into the inner lining of his suit. Not a worry in the world, completely at ease. You had a feeling that this guy was just as dangerous as he felt. If not more so.

" well, this whole things pretty simple really. Now, see, my uh, boss, he's a real hoot. Not too fond of...",he glanced at you again, "dirty buisness". If you weren't too busy shitting yourself, you'd have probably bristled at that. Though he continued still.

 "so everything's fine, all dandy, then just last week he gets a slip. Buisness partner, givin' him hell for pickin' of a valued associate of his--kill the deal, cuts off supply routs in his turf and, well, you get the picture". After much exaggerated rooting around, the skeleton finally pulled out his prize. Happily sticking a cigar into his toothy maw, flicking it alight. The burning embers of the tip casting a hellish glow over his face, illuminating it in a way that reminded you of looking into the end of a guns barrel. He took a few long drags, savoring the flavour of charcoal, before blowing it your through his mouth with a faint hissing sound, some seeping through his nasal cavity. "the problem here is--the boss wasn't the guy who pulled that little number off" he said, turning to face you again. Grin somehow stretching even further, a single pinprick of light flickering to life in one socket. "that, buddy, would be your doing".

 Your doing? Shit! Who'd you messed with recently? You couldn't think. Afraid that any distraction would give the monster the opportunity to pounce. He looked, felt, exuded everything you had always keenly avoided. Sure, you were... Skilled in the art of dishing out early funerals, but something. Something about this guy--it felt off. Almost as if he was something even you couldn't mess with, and that thought, it deeply unsettled you. 

 It wasn't a secret that you had been working a shady buisness from the day you'd been able to walk on two feet. The filthy work only getting dirtier as time went on. No, the secret, that was simply your face. Your identity was a secret, even if your reputation was not. 

 Ebbot City was a nasty place. It was the only place you knew, so you didn't have anything to compare it to, but you still felt it. The smog of pollution that wasn't simply limited to the environment. The streets, although seeming pretty at first glance, like something straight out of a postcard, were riddled with bad crowds. Gang culture and organized crime syndicates operated in plain sight, yet still carefully hidden. A city rotting to the core, from the inside out. It's own people turning it into a festering pit of sin. 

You didn't even claim to be better than that. You just acknowledged it. 

 Then the memory struck you--while maybe not as recent as you'd first thought. You had, in fact, made a hit recently, and your blood ran cold at the thought. Just three weeks ago-- recent enough for you to be a prime candidate, for whatever had rattled this guy's demonic skull. 

 Shit. Double shit in fact. All the fucking shits-- almost a lifetime of anonymity, and this ass-less asshole comes in ripping that whole thing apart. 

 In a bold move you'd known was stupid before you even attempted it, you bolted for the door. The piece if wood barely still hanging on its hinges--only to get cut off by a jagged array of bones shooting through the rotten floorboards. Stopping just as they reached your eyelashes. _Holy shit_. You didn't dare move, mouth going dry as you stared at the sharp edges numbly, heart skipping a beat as what just happened processed in your brain.

 You'd almost been fucking shish-kabobbed.

 

 "NOW NOW, BROTHER, NO NEED FOR THAT" a new voice interrupted,and you wheeled around. In complete disbelief that there'd been _another_ uninvited guest that you'd failed to notice.

 You shakily backed away from the jagged bones, keeping a watchful eye as you did. Flinching as they seemed to grow, as if reaching out at you, following your retreat. Only after stepping completely out of their range, sidestepping them for good measure, was when you turned to face the second intruder of the night. 

 Then blanched at the sight. 

 A second skeleton stood within the depths of the shadows. Posture impeccably straight, wearing clothing of a much similar fashion as his companion, though he was much taller. Which was saying something, since the shorter guy was at least a head over you--this dude was a fucking giant. 

 That wasn't the only thing that struck you though. No. That would be, that you recognized this skeleton. Gentle features appearing almost sheepish from what little of his face you could see. Figure much slimmer than his friend, less tank like and stocky, but with broad shoulders, giving him a strong appearance. 

 It was the monster you'd pocketed from earlier that evening. 

 "GOOD EVENING, LADY HUMAN! I APOLOGIZE FOR THE RUDE INTRUSION, BUT I'M AFRAID WE COME HERE ON QUITE A SERIOUS BUISNESS" he boomed, voice carrying stunningly loud in the small space. He looked almost like he meant it, as if he feared you thought him rude, though duty outshone that concern. He remained dutifully stationed at his chosen post. 

 You deeply regretted showing this guy that small kindness now. Even more than you already did. You couldn't find yourself believing that kindly face anymore. It felt false, a face like that didn't belong in this world. You felt ill. You'd foolishly let your guard down, and now you were paying the price. You'd allowed yourself to be lulled into a sense of security by that tall bastards mercy, but there was no fucking way you were gonna get got by a pair of boneheads. Not a chance in hell. 

 Forcing yourself to relax, you inched your way towards the center of their vision. Keeping well out of range, but making a point to stand, seemingly submissively, at their faces. 

 The tall monster seemed relieved, though the shorter remained unreadable. 

 "nice of ya to cooperate bucko" the smaller brother grinned. Adding, mockingly, "not that ya had much say so, but..." he trailed off. His larger brother shot him an unhappy frown, silently scolding him with his eyes, for something you couldn't tell. Was he... Surely not? Was he mad at him for poking fun at you? The thought seemed ridiculous, you quickly dismissed it. 

 "So, what? Should I be plannin' a funeral then? Doesn't seem like you boy's came 'round on friendly terms" you croaked. Wincing at the gravelly sound of your voice, as unused as it was. Both monsters startled at the sound. What? Had they not expected you to have a thing to say? Heh, maybe they thought you'd just cower like a cornered mouse,and die like one, silently. 

 You were almost surprised by how quickly the big guy was to retort. "OUR ORDERS ARE NOT TO HARM YOU, LADY HUMAN" he flustered, apparently insulted. 

 Huh. Interesting. 

 As if reading the questioning look on your face, the smaller brother chuckled. Low, and menacingly. "nah, our job is ta bring ya back to the boss" he said simply. Though he then stepped forwards, foot pounding the floor with unnecessary force. The sound echoing thunderously throughout the building, "though i can't promise against a couple'a broken bones if ya give us a hard time". 

 His brother squawked in protest, hotly admonishing his brothers harsh display. Earning a pathetic shrug, both eye-sockets blinking to life with tiny,  white, glowing lights, winking cheekily at his brother.

 Your opportunity had presented itself, and you gratefully grasped at it. 

 Or rather, you jumped for it. 

 You promptly threw yourself forwards, leaping straight over the two monsters, who recovered just as quickly as you'd moved, as they lunged. Crashing straight through the discolored window of glass, it popping from its frame as you stretched your arms out. Practiced hands grasping at the gutter pipe drilled into the building opposites side. 

 There was a heart lurching second of gravity pulling you down, momentum almost sending you tumbling to the concrete below regardless, but you quickly ground to a halt. Toes perched deftly against the small bolts keeping the rattling steel tethered to the decaying structures face. With impressive maneuvering, you scrambled up the side of the structure. Pulling yourself up easily onto it's roof, which was thankfully flattened off, allowing you to sprint across it without effort. Leaping from building to building as you made hate to escape, hopping onto a convenient window ledge to crawl across the sides. After all, remaining up top was a silly idea, you'd be in plain view up there. As you scurried around the corner, out of sight, you caught a brief glimpse of the tall skeleton skidding to a hasty halt at the roof edge. Scanning the area before him, before making a horrified face, and frantically searching the ground below. 

 You could have sworn you saw his shoulders slump with relief upon not spotting you there. Splattered across the cold, hard ground below. 

 "SANS! THE HUMAN HAS EVADED CAPTURE, DO YOU SEE HER ANYWHERE?" you heard him yelling. Though you were more focused on making your way along the building's faces. Alternating sides as you went, heaving from the extra effort. You were getting deeper into the heart of the city, having left behind the slums. Hopefully, you wouldn't get spotted by any passer by's. That'd be a real bitch. 

 You didn't hear 'sans's' answer, but you suspected that they hadn't called off their pursuit. A suspicion that was confirmed as you spotted the taller skeleton stampeding after you, at ground level. A triumphant grin flashing across his determined expression as he spotted you, and you quickly abandoned your position midway along the skyscrapers sides. Propelling yourself upwards in favor of the buildings rooftops once more. Ah well. It was becoming too dangerous to maneuver that way anyway. It was slowing you down too. This way, you wasted less energy. 

 You lost track of how long you ran. Leaping from surface to surface, abruptly changing direction. Sometimes backtracking, moving as erratically as you could. Though you couldn't shake the feeling of being watched, even though there was still nobody in sight. 

 Even in spite of that nagging worry, you had to pace yourself. Soon collapsing to your knees, body lurching as you wheezed. The demand for rest so strong that you actually retched, spitting out sour tasting bile. Wobbling arms threatening to give in on you, and send you sprawling in the mess of your own making. 

 With the rest, cane with it a sense of relief. 

 "wow kid, I didn't think that'd be barf of the course" a lazy voice snickered behind you, too close. Way to close. You whirled around, eyeing the skeleton, who you now identified as Sans, in complete disbelief. _You hadn't even heard him_. 

 You wasted no time in throwing yourself away from him, rolling away and jumping straight for the next ledge. You barely blinked, and he was suddenly there. Right in front of you. 

 You felt the blood run out of your face, paling to an impressive shade of white. You almost looked like him. 

 "what?" he shrugged. Smile appearing good natured. He looked amused. You still felt sick. 

 You retreated a step, and he advanced. Making a game out of making you shit yourself, and you kept retreating, stumbling as you realized that there was no ground to meet your foot. 

 You wobbled to catch you balance, eyes shifting down, ready to make a grab for anything. When a hard hand forcefully tugged you forwards. You landed, hard, looking up, to find Sans had vanished. 

 The sound of gravel shifting behind you was your warning. A flash of blue darting for your head, and you ducked, falling forwards to escape from your assault-ant. Maybe, if you'd have been a little calmer, you'd have noticed the faint creaking of metal, and the clink of bone against it. Though it was masked by your panic, and the whistling of the wind, ripping and whipping around you. Unobstructed. 

  Sans whistled. A large, elongated bone swung over his shoulder like a makeshift bat. A faint blue glow encasing it, though it was undeniably white. 

 You heard the footstep a second too late. 

Stars blinded you as something hard connected painfully with your cranium. The force of the blow sending you tumbling forwards, scraping against the gritty surface like cheese against a grater. You tasted iron in your mouth, and something sticky and wet ran agonizingly slow down your neck. You fingers twitched to itch at it, but your body felt like lead. The pain in your skull dulling as black danced around the edges of your vision. 

 "bro, I said knock her _down_ \--not out"

 "OH MY GOD, SANS! HAVE I BROKEN THE HUMAN?" 

"nah, but uh, that's a lot of blood, pap" 

"SHOULD WE MOVE HER?" 

"yea, you did good bro, less strugglin' on our part"

"SANS! THAT'S HIGHLY INAPPROPRIATE, LADY HUMAN IS VERY HURT!" 

"so? Makes our lives easier, c'mon help me get her up" 

 You registered two pairs of feet moving towards you. A newly ignited sense of terror gripped your soul. _No_. 

 Without any options left. You did the only thing left available to you. Grasping your trump card with all your strength. 

 And with that, you disappeared. Leaving behind an awestruck pair of skeletons, staring at the place you had just resided, and the only thing left there. The blooming pool of blood, still warm, as it seeped across the rooftop. Meanwhile, you allowed the darkness swimming in your vision to overtake you. Comforted by the fact, that when you woke up, you'd be somewhere far away. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmmmm, I wonder how on earth could our nameless little protagonist have pulked thst off~ oo and doesn't that Sans seem spooky?  
>  Who knows though, maybe Paps isn't quite as bad as he seems? After all, how bad can our little bird really be if she could spare an act of kindness in such devastating poverty? Perhaps that act might hold some importance after all, who knows?  
>  I do hope you enjoyed reading, and thanks for reading too! If you enjoyed it, please do leave a comment, or maybe a kudos, both are greatly appreciated!   
> 'Till next time~


	3. The Job, The Mistake

Usually, when life sends you a curve ball of shit, you can trace it down to one, big, bad mistake. Yours, happened to come in the form of a particularly shitty one. You'd taken quite the plethora of risks and made even more stupid decisions in your life, but this. It was in its own league. Surprising, that you'd consider this mistakes' consequences to outmatch those of getting into this whole buisness in the first place. But life was funny that way, you had no qualms about the things you did, or if you had, you were very adept at shaking them off, burying the gnawing shame somewhere it couldn't be found again. 

 This one came in the form of a job. No. Actually, it came in the form of desperation. Well, no, that wasn't right either. It came in many forms really, but mostly? It came in the form of the sort of depravity, that a creature like you would be all too willing to stoop to. To live. To keep living. 

To kill a stranger. 

 Now, this wasn't the first time at this special level of low you'd saddled up for. In fact, you'd lost count of the times hunger and cold had forced you into that murky business. So desperate that you would be willing to accept any pay for the prospect of something warm in your belly. A person's life, measured by the weight of a measly handful of crumpled paper bills. 

 Pocket change. For a life. And many life's intertwined with them, both in terms of casualties, and in how many people's lives were also destroyed along the way, and in the process. Both figurative and literally speaking all at once. 

 You'd shook the thought from your mind. Partially horrified by you lack of self disgust at your own actions, of the blood that would soon be on your hands, never mind the lives you were already responsible for. You were simply too hungry to care for someone else's misfortune. Too focused on your own. No, it was time to work, so that you may avoid a fate that would take the meaning of the deeds you had done--and really, not even that. You couldn't pretend you were so noble as to live for those who you'd killed. 

 You lived, simply, because you didn't want to die. 

 You'd circled the building for a full day beforehand. Any longer, and you'd have brought too much attention to yourself, especially with the target living in such a high end environment. As well as being relatively secluded, too far away from the run of the mill streets to feign simply passing by. Or maybe admiration of a life you could never have. An excuse you'd chosen to use before, and found relatively successful. 

 Stroking the egos of those that thought themselves your superior was a tactic that played very well in your favor. 

 It had been quite a very intricately placed target this time. Well hidden away, deep inside a large, and well guarded compound. Well lit, but also well furnished, at least in the ways of gaudy hedges and plant based covers and the like. The grounds were too large for you to get a good idea of the interiors furnishings, but based on the structures out-linings, you had a very rough idea of the basic floor plan. Emphasis on _rough_. 

 It was large, yes, and had you been given access to a bird's eye view of the building, you'd have likely seen a giant 'H'. Or something close to it, the shape was only based on what you could see, and you only saw the outside view, the surface faces and not much else. That, and the placement of the chimneys, some not quite corresponding to the placement of the rest. Though they didn't really match up, suggesting that some wings of the building where partially detached. 

 As uncomfortable as you felt jumping in blind like that, you didn't have any other options. Not unless you wanted to risk blowing all possible cover or alerting everyone on the property. With so many soft targets mulling around, you couldn't afford to lose that single golden advantage. 

They, as far as you were aware. Had not the foggiest idea you were coming, and so, wouldn't see you doing so.

 You'd began at the most akward part of the property. Seeing as the mini fortress was so conveniently placed by what most would argue to be a dangerous part of town being so close to monster territory. Surprisingly, the more financially inclined tended to gather in the area, sitting happily on the outskirts of town in order to supplement their need for copious amounts of space.

 The monsters themselves leered primarily by the base of their mountain, the town there supported by the sickening amount of gold that had accumulated in their hands. Of course they didn't limit themselves to their 'side' of the whole city, no, they were scattered all over the place, including throughout where humans took their residences, rather than the grey area where both parties built their businesses and such. But by the base of the mountains were where the... Shadier monster organizations took root, and there they stayed. Since straying wasn't really an option. Not when they were surrounded on all sides by enemies, whether they were set in stone or just presumed to be. Not everyone made their malice clear. 

 The high, rocky (and dangerous) terrain, was scarcely defended. The unruly ground evidently  presumed to be defense enough, and for most, yes, it would have been enough of a deterrent to give up the idea of making a less than honest entry. You were certain that the majority of thieves and such would have taken one look at the heavy population of guardsmen alone and turned tail.

 So, your supposed it was quite lucky you wouldn't be leaving with a prize to carry on your back. In and out. Nothing to weigh you down but your own guilt--fun, right? Sounds like a right old hoot. 

 What the guards hadn't apparently thought of, was that as well as the mountainside offering a very effective source of defense against run of the mill criminals. It also offered a very convenient way inside, with the terrain rising well over the high iron gating bordering the property. You didn't have much on you as it was, since explaining exactly why you had tools meant for breaking and entering to coppers or other folk sticking their noses in was never a very fun conversation to be had. That, and those tools were expenses that you couldn't exactly afford to begin with. 

  Gritting your teeth, you latched yourself onto the rough exterior. Fitting your fingers and toes into whatever nooks and crannies the rock could offer, testing your weight cautiously before hauling your thin frame upwards. Cursing whenever soft earth crumbled under your weight instead, sending your limbs grating against stone as you scrambled to find another, steadier footing. It was a grueling experience, climbing, with a starved, so far beyond exhausted body as a host. It always was, though lucky for you, it wasn't an activity that you weren't well versed in. Your body, although small and dangerously thin, was built leanly. With tightly backed muscle, unhindered by the weight or luxury of fat, though made you look no less healthy. As you had little fuel to fuel what muscle you had, clinging to bone, giving you a withered, sick looking appearance, but, thankfully, gave you enough strength to treat activities such as this with relative ease. Despite how awful it felt to do so. 

 There wasn't anything to weigh you down, except your own body of course. The higher you got, the more intent it felt that gravity was trying to drag you down again. Until the strain your tightly locked finger joints felt latched tightly on their tiny ledges felt almost enough to fuse the flesh and bone themselves right into the mountain. As though welded there. It was a precarious balance of suffering and child's play. Your body, strong as eggs is eggs, but feeling physically weak. Still. You trusted your weary limbs, even if they felt ready to snap like dry twigs right under you. 

 You stopped climbing once you became level with the top of the fencing. Which thankfully weren't adorned with iron spikes or lethal looking barbed wire. So you were able to hook your left arm and leg over the top, shuddering as the icy metal stung at your bare flesh. Then push hard off the cliff face with your right, rolling over the fences top and swinging down, dangling from the opposite side on one arm. Giving yourself a moment to grow accustomed to the position, waiting for the dizzying feeling of turning over yourself to pass, before dropping. Landing squarely on the heels of your feet against the grass. Cushioning the impact slightly, but the force still sent an uncomfortable twinge up the nerves of your calves and up into your knees. Ankles clicking as you shifted your weight to your butt, allowing the roll to your back to take the rest of the impact, and save you from breaking your own ankles before you'd even stepped foot into the building itself. 

 You felt the grass poking at your spine and tickling at your flesh through the worn fabric of your clothes. It was clipped short, and lying so low to the ground told you it was freshly mowed. The earthy scent of the grasses oils and the wet soil itself filling your lungs. A pleasant change from the foul odor of sweat and grime that was yourself. 

 Had you not been completely out in the open. You might have taken a few minutes to catch your breath, but unfortunately, the only thing keeping you out of sight from wandering sentries were the low cut, decorative hedges. Cut into very intricate, if a little unusual shapes. A cluster of such hedges, cut into spiraling tendrils swirling and twisting into eachother were actually just a stones throw away from where you had landed, so you quickly shuffled over to the provided cover. Wincing as the tender flesh still raw from your climb scraped against the prickly grass.

 With your head to the floor, you dragged yourself over to the edge of the cluster of plants. Peeking carefully around the edge to scan for any wandering threats. Finding many to speak of, but all of them seemed to have gathered around further towards the building, where it was lit up like Christmas, with beautiful golden light spilling out from huge, grandly built patio doors. The windows glinting in the gloom like gorgeous star-like lanterns. As well as small, neatly built fire pits where the guards had gathered about to keep warm. All dressed in very expensive looking suits that you'd noticed had become popular amongst the richer folk, at least to dress their employees in, like peacocks displaying their wealth through the people serving them. It was hardly fighting attire, sure it looked fancy, but you'd learned from pleasant experience that those stuffy things might as well be straight jackets given how restrictive they were. Clearly made, or rather distributed, with aesthetics in mind over practicality. 

 All of the men seemed lost in making merry. Few of them seemed to be in any condition to be doing their jobs, yelling in slurred sentences and knocking into one another. Drunk. Or very close to it. If they weren't tripping over themselves, they were no no better suited, bellies so bloated that they struggled to stand after being seated. Grotesquely fat fingers wagging vigorously at their comrades, lost in some tale that the mass majority apparently found highly amusing. Their uproar of laughter carrying cleaning all the way to where you sat.

 Honestly, the whole situation was actually kind of depressing to watch. Even if it did work out in your favor. Up against men so stupid, they'd climb a glass wall to see what was on the other side. That being said, even an idiot can fire off a gun. Or sound off the alarm, so while the handicap was easily in your favor, it didn't mean you could get sloppy with your methods. 

 You'd spent the day mapping the area you could see out, so you had a rough idea where you wanted to be. You hadn't managed to really get a good idea of where in the building you needed to be, but you did know that the best looking entrance was around the West wing of the property. Where the kitchen opened up to a huge pantry, with a small driveway for supply deliveries that was kept open to stave off the days heat. With escape routes scattered almost everywhere throughout the property, most notably a rather promising water system, a denser population of surrounding people sure. But all of the attention seemed directed to keep people out, so as long as you weren't planning on making a return entrance. You were fairly sure you could manage a neat exit. 

 The problem was, getting from point A, over to point B, was a lot easier said than done. Though it was made easier given that the employed guards obviously didn't give two shits about doing their job. Probably the worst part about being a big shot criminal in a city run by criminals, whoever said there was honor among thieves clearly hadn't mulled around with them. Loyalty was usually gained by fear, and this guy, he was buying them with money, and money alone only got you so far. 

 With all the men preoccupied with enjoying themselves,it wasn't as difficult as you'd have usually expected to pick your way across the yard. Slinking across from the graciously provided hiding spots, none of them would be much use against bullets. But they were plenty capable against line of sight, especially in the low light, anybody close to the house would've been ironically blinded by the given light. 

 You had gotten about halfway across the garden when you hit a snag. You'd been taking your time getting around, since there was no imminent threat to make you do otherwise. With nothing but plant, well, plantations and hedgerows, to hide behind. You were stuck crawling close down to their roots and... Well. Their roots, surprisingly, weren't the softest surface to be scraping yourself over. 

 You winced, biting back a fit of colourful, choice curses, as a long, burning sting shot across your shin. Unfortunately, you didn't manage to stop yourself from flinching away from the sharp knot you'd shredded yourself on. Your leg spasmed without your consent, and it kicked out against the bush. Which shook accordingly. Not surprisingly, this rustling it made was heart stoppingly loud. At least, to you it was. Like the crack of cannon fire right above your ear, though, it went apparently unnoticed. There wasn't even a hitch in the hearty conversation just a stone's throw out of earshot. Everyone continuing to nod vigorously at whatever a notably large man sat just on the edge of the group had said. His huge, bulking shoulders sent a long shadow in the dim light, and it's slinking form moved wildly, giving him a very demonic looking appearance as the fire flickered his shadows into a frenzied looking dance. Despite the fact he, himself, hadn't moved, except to make very insistent gestures with his arms. 

 Unnoticed, except, of course, by one, single sober man. 

A single sober man that apparently had a damn to spare about his job. 

 Under normal circumstances, this would have been quite a welcome opportunity. Unexpected yes, sure, but welcome nonetheless. Hell, you'd have wrestled him to the ground, killed him if he struggled too much, left him with a really bad head injury if not. Probably taken his clothing to blend in with the scene and hidden his body in one of the bushes and moved on--happy days. That kind of tactic was why you came so bare of gear after all. Less to link you to the crime if you didn't have access to the stuff beforehand. But this wasn't under normal circumstances, you didn't know the reason for whole areas layout, you were in the vicinity of a _lot_ of witnesses. 

 Panicking, you froze, breath hitching as you strained to listen for the goddamn assholes careless footsteps. He wasn't even trying to be quiet, and you could see him through the gaps in the leaves, strolling easily towards the curiosity that had captured his attention. You kicked some dirt over the ground you'd sat at, as well as the splotches of blood that'd been dripping from your wound. You scrunched your nose at him in distaste, glaring at the plainly built man from your hiding place, carefully pushing yourself towards to hide within a gap in the roots. Cramming yourself inside, knees tucked right into the curve of your neck, you could barely breathe but that kind of worked in your favor since it kept you quiet. 

 Stupid, well fed sonuvabitch who didn't even have the decency to look at least a little nervous approaching something that could've been dangerous. No, he looked completely at ease, maybe a little intrigued. He looked younger than the other men sitting back around the fire, but no less unsuited to his damn job. It was ridiculous, sure it worked our well in your favor but, you'd kill for that kind of gig. Fuck, you killed for a lot less, but if you did have his spot you sure ass hell wouldn't risk letting it slip through your own fingers being all sloppy with it.

 Suddenly, you were pissed. Pissed at this arrogant prick with his cocky ass smirk as he poked around the bushes you'd been sitting at a minute before. Not knowing how fucking good he had it. How his mere arrogance was spitting in the face of people who'd never even had a chance. 

 Well, things always work out in unexpected ways out on jobs like this. Though you still needed a way inside the house. A way through that thick crusting of half-assed sentries bordering the edges of the building. It was honestly pretty convenient. You being just out of sight and all, just out of earshot, all hidden from view, with such a nice, spineless looking pig all laid out right in front of you. 

 You grinned, shifting your weight forwards, slowly, catlike as you stalked. Standing from your hunched position, edging ever closer to the crouched man just at your feet. Edges of your lips stretching further when the guys head turned towards the sound, face sneering as his eyes narrowed towards yours, fully expecting to find a comrade stepping out from the gloom.

 His face dropped when his gaze met yours instead. Widening, eyelids peeling to reveal the whites of his sewage coloured eyes swallowing his fear thickly, and he stumbled backwards in fright. Eyes darting to and fro, from the sweet, innocent looking grin on your face.

To the blade, glinting softly in your hand.

Well well, it looked like you had a way in after all. How convenient!

The world would be no worse off with _this_ death.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not my best chapter but at the same time, I'm happy with how it turned out. It's funny, how I can be so satisfied and unsatisfied at the same time with the stuff I'm writing. Either way, it looks like this poor soul has quite the temper, hmm? The only question is, is her anger truly warranted, or has her own jealousy blinded her--glasses that only let her see fault.  
>  Thank you for reading, I do hope you enjoyed. If you did, why not leave a comment? Or a kudos?


	4. All In a Days Work

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chapter that didn't want to be written.

You never knew exactly why it was your hair was that your hair was so strangely white. You knew it was considered strange, but you never had the chance to learn how, or what made it so odd, or even how you had white hair to begin with. But you knew one thing. Or at least, you thought you knew. 

 Your white hair, had earned you the title, 'Ghost'.  A fitting title actually when you thought about it. Nobody knew who you were. Your name, where you were, anything about you really--you sure as fuck preferred it that way too. Heck, why wouldn't you? If anyone ever did figure you out, you'd be dead. Sure as eggs is eggs. 

 Of course after the witness had spread that tidbit of information. He turned up a week later, just as dead as you could've been, and you'd dyed your hair in horse urine. A disgusting chore you did often now, to cover your tracks. Now your head was perpetually stained a hideous yellow. Not quite blond, just like teabag stained paper that had been left in the sun for a while to dry.  On the bright side, it helped rid you of lice too so maybe it wasn't so bad.

 Well. It was bad. But you could stomach it. 

You could stomach a lot of things.

 The guardsman snapped to attention just a second too late. Though his mind was quicker than his feet, so he was entirely aware of his little predicament. Fully aware, but unfortunately no better off. 

 You snapped your arm forwards faster than it took the unfortunate man to blink. Slamming your tiny palm into his trachea, abruptly cutting off his air supply and knocking him backwards all in one. Taken off guard, he fell quite easily, but his arms automatically flailed upwards, trying to reach for his own throat, but were blocked by you. As you had already pounced onto his torso, pulling him down by the hem of his well ironed shirt. 

 You knew, if he could have yelled out right then, everyone in the entire city would have heard his scream. But, unfortunately for him, he couldn't, and he didn't. Your rage subsided as you plunged the thin blade into the base of his skull, and he went limp instantly. It was strangely euphoric, in a way that you probably shouldn't have been pleased for. Spinal chord severed. If he hadn't died then and there, he would be dead soon enough. Robbed of the ability to draw in oxygen by himself, he would suffocate there, on the cold ground, quietly, while watching the inky black sky. 

 For a moment, you just... Set there. Why had you done that? 

 Why had you done that? 

 Shaking off the haze, you quickly stripped the man of his clothing. It was much too large on you, but you tried to adjust it so that you could slip past and look somewhat acceptable to passers by. So long as they didn't look directly at you anyway. Rolling the sleeved up your arms, as well as the pants, stuffing his socks into his boots to fill out the space and make it a little easier to walk. 

 After smoothing out the crisp white material over your body for the last time (you didn't get many chances to preen like this, so you took the opportunity to enjoy it), you couldn't help but grimace at the feeling of clean clothes on grimy skin. It was enough to make your stomach turn, v3ry uncomfortable. Still, comfort wasn't exactly the point of this switcharoo. So you huffed, making the final adjustments to your new threads before standing upright. 

 Calmly, you forced yourself to walk in a slow, leisurely manner through the hedges. You knew that now your were standing upright, people could no doubt see you moving, if they looked anyway. So you tried to mimic how the fallen guard had moved, confidently, and not at all in a way that would benefit one when prowling around for trespassers. Think walking like an open target. Because that's the what you felt like. 

 You made it around to the garage door without a hitch. Well, of course, things couldn't go too smoothly though. Could they? 

 "Oi, Ricky, whaddya doin' over there? Come, sit by the fire, maybe soften that rod up yer arse" a scratchy voice slurred in your general direction, and you stopped dead. One of the delivery men carrying past a box full of--somethings, stopped to give you a funny look. Narrowing his eyes at you, before going on his way. You refused to turn around, sucking in a breath, and holding it. 

 Your shoulders felt stiffer than cardboard, as you tucked the rim of your hat just a little lower on your face. Waving a lazy hand back to the man who'd called out to you as you continued to walk as casually as you could. He seemed satisfied with that, since he didn't call out to you again. And you let out a huge sigh of relief as you turned the corner through the small hallway. Ignoring the kitchen entrance in favor of searching the Western wing. You'd rather take the long way around the kitchen, than try to excuse why a guard was walking straight through it. Wearing a uniform much too short, and looking so rough. 

 Your heart finally started beating again once all the voices were out of earshot. And you let another sigh of relief. You were so clumsy today, maybe it was just because you were hungry. But you were always hungry. So you didn't quite understand why it was you were so... Out of it. It was almost like you were losing something of yourself. Like these trips were changing you. 

 You shrugged. Now wasn't the time to be worrying about that. You were in the thick of enemy territory, it wouldn't do well do be distracted. 

 The problem with the property being so well defended though, was that you'd been denied the chance to inspect the place beforehand. Other than the most basic of basic floor plans, you were lost. And it was a very big building. And the man you were looking for could be anywhere in it. 

 "What on earth is that smell?" a familiar voice complained from somewhere nearby. Ah, well how about that? Looks like finding the smuck on your list wasn't that much of a forlorn dream after all. 

 Sure, you might not have been able to do your homework on the guy's house. But you'd done more than your fair share of meddling with the man himself. Following rich folk around wasn't exactly hard, especially when they were so, how do you put this? Oh yeah. Big headed and flamboyant bastards who enjoyed flaunting their wealth to anyone with the eyes to see it. Yeah, that was about right. 

 Tannis Harvey, the number one on the block for all your illegal substances needs. Having supposedly made his fortune through so called 'Delivery services' spanning the whole city, which was all just  a really thin veil to cover his actual dealings in everything from drugs to alcohol, even dabbling in the slavery trade for a while. That had gone south a few months ago. His own doing of course, after a few business partners had made the mistake of trusting the man with their business documents as they went into hiding. Suddenly, after a little heat from the police, he'd developed a sudden moral compass of the highest standards, and had thrown all those 'friends' under the bus for their _disgusting_ dealings. That, of course, he'd had no knowledge about. Prior to the idiots dumping all of their valuable information into his lap of course. 

 Surprisingly. This action had gained just a little bit of hostility from said idiots. But the thing is, even locked up, money did wonders to make the world go round their way. Tannis had been a mere phone call away, and a small cash transaction shortly after, from having the best assassin money could by set on his trail. 

Not that you were tooting your own horn or anything. 

 You'd been following him around for a hot while. Lucky for him, he wasn't exactly a creature of habit, which was why you'd had to resort to knocking on his doorstep. But as you'd ran surveillance on the fancy prick, you'd heard enough of that damn boy voice of his to last a lifetime. He talked as though his balls had never dropped. And looked just as he sounded. Young, with a fish belly and not an ounce of muscle on his scrawny frame to boast about. Not that it stopped him, or his ego, from stomping around the block as if he where two hundred pounds of raw beefcake. What with those guard dogs of his following closely behind, glowering anyone he passed into submission as he strutted by. 

 With a breath of relief you'd never thought you'd breathe at the sound of his voice. You stepped to follow the sound of his voice. Being careful to not turn the corner and ran smack into the guy, or anyone else for that matter. You ended up tailing behind him up two whole flights of stairs, remaining at a steady distance of at least two hallways away. What could you say? His voice carried. 

 You furrowed your brow, listening to the footsteps of too many people heading your way. You couldn't move forwards without running into your new pincushion to be. Or run the chance of losing him in the fricking maze he lived in. Nor could you stay put. The hallways were generously large, but not wide enough for anyone with half a brain to not see you weren't part of the crowd. The hired help might've been gormless, heck they'd climb over a glass wall to see what was on the other side. But now was the time to get to the real work. Now that you were inside, there were countless ways in which to disappear. 

 Thank god for the rich and their flare for the dramatics. Richly furnished houses, and most of all, air conditioning. 

 How many times had you resorted to cramming yourself in these crushing ventilation systems? Too many times to count. While it wasn't exactly the most graceful method of transportation, it was brilliant for going unseen. Plus it wasn't as if you weren't small enough to fit inside. Funny, for systems designed for the explicit purpose of keeping intruders out, they were perfect for letting you in. Plus, they were such a tight squeeze, that hardly anyone expected someone to be crawling around with relative ease inside. 

 It was as you were shuffling through the grate right above Tannis, you felt the long awaited calm wash over you. It happened at some point, every time you ever went on a hit. Only ever a matter of when than if. Like being in a trance, you were somewhat aware of everything you did, but it was a state were you were trapped behind your own eyes. Even while you were flushing in the heat of the confined space, when just a moment ago, you might have groaned in complaint. Now, your face simple remained an unreadable mask, and not a sound escaped your lips as you crept along to follow Tannis as he moved through the the house. 

 Your mind was too fuzzy anymore to worry about what was happening to you. A popular choice to muse over when you snapped out of it, as you often did. But you knew enough to know that you wouldn't now until you were far away from this place. Preferably after you'd cleaned up your mess and collected the blood money. It briefly occurred to you, that maybe it was thanks to this was how you'd managed to do all that you had. Maybe this was what made you so different from the other hundreds upon hundreds that had fell into this miserable lifestyle, it was the dissociative nature of your brain that allowed you to thrive. 

 Ah, well. It didn't exactly matter what you owed it to at this point. 

 Tannis moved around like a damn squirrel for most of the night before he settled down. He seemed to enjoy moving quite a lot, and didn't seem like the sit-still and do desk work type. You half suspected that that was the point. This nonsense might very well have been him simply avoiding doing the paperwork that now sat at his desk. Which was now where he was. Yeah, he didn't seem too happy about that. He was sulking in his chair in fact, while his lap dogs simply stood, watching, with very unenthused expressions on their faces. 

 After a while. It seemed the bad-boy wannabe grew irritated with the men staring him down as he worked. Much to your muted delight. 

 "Jesus--just fucking go! Go lift some weights or something, whatever just, stop looking at me!" the rich boy finally blew up. The two larger men flinched slightly at that, but easily bowed their heads to the little lord. Retreating to the hallway as they'd been ordered without a word. The compliance in their movements was telling that this was a commonplace event. Strange. If it was, you'd have thought they'd have learned that lesson by now. 

 The door shut with a quiet click, and the man below you sighed, heavily. Throwing his head back as he leaned back in his chair, pushing himself from the desk with his feet. And rolling over fluidly to the window, sending his desk a scathing glare, before gazing longingly out of the window pane with a wistful sigh. 

 "knuckle heads expecting--", he ruffled at his hair "me to concentrate with their stupid faces watching my damn shoulder..." he muttered. 

 Little did he know, those knuckle heads he'd just sent out the door. Would tomorrow be met with quite the career change opportunity. For letting their boss get snuffed, right under their noses. 

 Very slowly, you pried off the grate that acted as your window to the man's room. Using the pads of your bony fingertips to muffle the rattling, so that instead of the loud clattering of it being removed. It simply resembled the whoosh of air rattling through loose paneling. 

 The harder part was to actually maneuver your body through the hole. So that you didn't go face first through it, having to shuffle past it. And back up, kicking your legs through the gap, as you silently lowered your tiny body through it. Until you were dangling from the ceiling, though you kept your body straight as a plank. Rather than flailing around. Stealth relied on your ability to control your movements in this kind of situation. And you tightened your muscles to slide downwards in a resolute display of absolute control. Dropping down after you'd regained your balance with catlike grace. Not a sound to give away your landing. 

 Slinking towards the desk in a low crouch, you ducked behind the desk. The plush carpet underfoot was very forgiving, keeping each step muted, though to you, who could hear it, felt as the every step was like crashing around in metals pots for shoes on a ceramic floor.

 You slid into position behind the man's chair and waited. He was leaning forwards, facing the glass. All you needed was for him to turn away, or lean back, and you could strike. You just needed one of those two things, and he'd be close enough to make your move.

He shifted, and you held your breath.

 With a heavy sigh, the man threw himself back to recline in his seat. Pushing the seats back, backwards, and in the same fluid motion, he bounced back forwards. This time though, with his throat slit in a deep gash. It could have very well been a second mouth, but it wasn't. With a retching gurgle for a gasp he couldn't take, he threw himself forwards, only to drop to the floor like a felled tree. Weak from heavy blood loss, he stopped moving soon after. While you simply watched over his lifeless corpse, fingers wet with his fluids, pocket knife dyed with his red. Still warm on your fingers, and sticky even as you wiped as much of it off as you could on his already soiled jacket. Funny, for a man who prided himself on keeping neat and tidy. He died leaving such a _bloody mess_.

 It was silent now. Except for the sound of your labored breath. Deciding it best now to keep your weapon in as close reach as possible now, you quickly tied Tannis's neck tie around your forearm.  Tucking the blade back in the sliver between flesh and fabric, with the handle facing the crook of your elbow. Before fleeing the scene back to the ventilation shaft, using the desk as a launching pad to leap for the opening. Fingers latching into the rim with practiced movements, and hauling yourself up and over the threshold with minimal disruption.

 You left the corpse behind you without gracing it with a second glance.

 Thankfully, the building itself was no more aware of your intrusion as it had been the moment you entered. It wasn't entirely uncommon of course, since you made it a point to keep your movements quiet. Unless something convinced you otherwise, or circumstances left it out of your hands. So you found it all too easy to crawl your way to the opposite side of the estate. Before exiting the vents for good, and sliding out of a wind that had been low enough to the ground for you to sneak out without drawing suspicion. You'd had to break away the lock, popping the fragile thing off at its fastenings to get it open. But from then on, it was as if you had never even been there. 

 Jumping into the aqua duct had been grueling work. You weren't the most talented swimmer, so fighting the current was one thing. But fighting it along with the body numbing cold was quite another. Your entire body was robbed of breath as soon as your flesh has met the icy water. Had it been any colder, you might have actually gone into shock. And the resulting gasp had almost led you to inhale a nasty lung full of freezing cold water. Luckily, you'd bobbed to the surface just in time. Only to duck right back down again to avoid smacking your head right against the iron fence's opening.

 That would've been bad. You'd have knocked yourself out cold, and swiftly followed your latest kill straight down to hell. Fast acting karmic retribution and all that jazz. But, happily for you, you didn't end up dying in the clumsiest way possible. And simply followed let the current carry you all the way to where it met the river, which was when you scrambled to get out. Now, it was time to get warm, you couldn't collect you due wares until the body was found anyway, so you had all the time in the world to get yourself warm. Before you really did die and follow Tannis to the grave.

 God, it was fucking freezing. Did you mention yet that you hated the cold? Because you really did. In fact, you loathed it. Even more than the well off snobs flaunting wealth as it was a commodity. More than the gnawing hunger eating away at you body. More than anything else. The cold was what you despised most in this broken down, pitiful life of yours.

 Maybe you should just drop whatever morals you had left and simply become a hitman--woman? full time. At least then you'd be able to scrounge enough cash to rent an apartment. Maybe even one day a home. You were doing it anyway, maybe infrequently, but you were still doing it. Maybe it was time to drop all pretenses that you were just a good person in a desperate situation and actually live life. Why were you trying to be considerate of the lives who'd never even offered you a scrap of-- _anything_?

 The rest of the evening was spent licking your own wounds, in the relative comfort of your little nest in the slums. Patiently awaiting for the dawn to break, for that siren to sound. And for the lowlifes pacing the floors of their cells to cackle in triumph, for it would be then that you reap your well deserved reward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's kinda bad, Promise next chapter is much more interesting. This one had to be forced out of my damn fingers, and it shows.  
>  Regardless, it seems our Little Ghost has a little more to her than first appears. If you didn't already gather that from her little disappearing act~ what on earth could cause our little lady to feel so unlike herself? Is it simply her business taking a tool on her mind? Or is it something a little more... Interesting?  
>  Regardless of how poorly written this chapter was, I do hope you enjoyed reading, if you did, why not leave a comment, or even a kudos? And again, this next chapter will relaly be something you can sink your teeth into, so stay tuned!  
>  Till next time~


	5. Shame You Were Too Tired To Enjoy The Walk

Waking up was... Not fun. At all. You had no way to even try to sugarcoat it. You felt god awful. And that was only the start of it. 

 You had been _discovered_. And you were being _hunted_. By monster hit men. Monster hit men with magic that you'd never even encountered before. How do you even combat that?! 

 You had no idea were it was you were. But you woke up laying on your back, and it was wet there, and cold. And while your head felt as though someone had tried to bash it it with a sledgehammer, you were alive. Even if it felt as though your brain was trying to force your eyes out of their sockets. 

 With a groan you hadn't given permission to leave your lips. You clumsily flopped over to your side, the act itself more laborious than it had ever been in your life. And every single twitch from your head sent waves of debilitating nausea through your body, lodging sickeningly in your throat. 

 Eventually, you did manage to loll to your front. It had taken a while, since with the exhaustion and whatnot combined with the disorientating pain, you had to stop moving until it subsided a couple of times. You couldn't let yourself rest yet though. As much as you wanted to become one with the concrete. There was still no guarantee that the skeleton duo had stopped looking. Or if they were the only ones searching, no. You had to get somewhere safer than the dark city streets. Away from prying eyes and lurking shadows. 

 The tatty fabric your shirt, having been completely and thoroughly soaked by what you now identified as rain. You'd been lying in a puddle, and you were shivering, violently, right down to your bones. And simply moving your arms felt like such a coordinated effort, and you were heavy. Heavier than you'd ever been in your life. Like you were wearing sleeves of lead, only you weren't wearing sleeves at all, or you'd be a lot warmer.

Damn, you hated the cold. 

 Still feeling very much like you'd been hit by a bus, your breath hitched as you finally manage to stand up straight. Well, straight was being generous. You were upright sure, but you were hunched over, heavily, and you were walking like a drunkard. 

 Jesus christ)))))))))) 

 You knew you would draw attention to yourself if you chanced the streets. But you were in no fit state to traverse the rooftops without either maiming and or killing yourself. The backstreet or otherwise underpopulated alleyways were also out of the question. Undesirables like _you_ tended to gather there, for the exact same reason too, to commit the kind of crimes you didn't want witnesses for. Which was in general, most of it really. But that was a very wide spectrum of shitstorm you wanted no part of. Unless it was _you_ committing it. 

 So. Feeling every bit like the sore thumb you were sticking to like, you took towards the babbling noise and commotion of the main street. Stumbling more than walking, and you were miserable every step of the way. And you hadn't even actually _made_ it to the street yet. 

 When you did. Ohoho when you did. You heard the delicate gasp of a woman who'd very likely never seen something as ratty and pathetic as you in her entire life. Along with a small series of gasps and tutting for the poor street cretin who'd found its way to their beautiful unstained territory. Oh sure, there was plenty of pity to go around. Of course, nobody actually tried to offer you any assistance though. Just watched, hands over mouths as they hovered around you, parting like a hot knife through butter to let you pass. Some noses wrinkling in disgust at your no doubt god awful smell. And general appearance. 

 You always wondered about that expression, you thought, as you limped pitifully along into the crowded mesh of bodies. Hot knife, through butter, that is, or was. Why did it being hot matter? It was a knife! It'd cut through a lot more'n just butter if you pushed hard enough. That made you giggle a little to yourself, and you could practically hear the delirium in your voice as you did. It crackled with disuse, and it was then you realized that maybe that thwack you took to the head had done more damage than you'd first thought. 

 Why, then, was it that you found that thought all the more amusing? What a sight you must be. Shuffling along in the crowd, barely able to walk in a straight line, chortling madly to yourself like some sort of loon. 

 That laughter almost turned to tears when you put it that way. And you had to fight the choked sob that threatened to spill from your lips. As your body heaved along with it. Times like this, you wished you could turn off like you did on those nasty little jobs. y'know, the ones that had landed you in this mess in the first place? Yeah. Funny. You never thought you'd wish to be so inhuman like that outside of 'work'. But you'd give almost anything to to just--just snap into that weird, efficient mindset you did. Why couldn't it be a conscious choice thing? Your everything hurt, so so bad. You just wanted it to be gone, to be better. To just watch you body get somewhere safe and warm and _not here_ and snap back to attention again. 

 Where was safe anyway? Where were you even going? Was there even anywhere _to_ go? How long would you go there for? Those monsters weren't going to just give up after chasing you that relentlessly. And there could be a whole host of fucking people after you for all you know! 

Should you skip town?

You shook that idea away as soon as it came. 

You still had ties to this place. Awful as it was. There were things even you had here that can't be left behind. 

 The one good thing about the gigantic lane of concrete that was the main street of Ebott city, was the anonymity the equally gigantic crowd brought with it. Street vendors and mini booths for trading filled the cracks between stores and copious cafés competing with one another in close proximity.

 People in this environment functioned quite pleasantly given the circumstances. Teeming with so many people, the issue of space was, well, quite a kerfuffle to say the least. People trying to maintain an air of peasantry and politeness as they were packed tightly together like a giant can of sardines. It was particularly amusing to witness the smartly dressed gentlemen trying their hardest to not disgrace themselves among the womenfolk, by invading their personal space in the most inconvenient ways. You didn't know why you found that so funny to be honest, it was just something you always found interesting. Then again, even in the slums, most decent men would often try to treat the women nearby delicately when they could. Then there were the less nice guys who seemed to make it their way mission in life to do the exact opposite. Women too sometimes, but they tended to be talked about a lot less. 

 Yes. There were many noteworthy things to talk about of both the slums and the high class societies. Some useful, some simply just for fun. People watching had always been a particular point of interest for you, since you were small, of course nowadays the watching part had less innocent intentions as your younger self. 

You were quite a bitter person. Angry at the world and the over privileged pricks who had more then anybody could need and took that for granted. But you enjoyed these types of places even so. The feeling of being lost in the crowd, it brought a sense of comfort to someone like you. It was soothing to be a nobody when living such a life. 

Too bad that now you were a somebody. And a somebody who was up to her neck in _fucked_. 

 You were too focused on not falling flat on your face again to take much notice of your surroundings other than the vaguely shaped figures walking alongside you, and passing just as quickly. You knew which direction you were heading even still though. You'd poor, exhausted brain deciding that it was probably best to head towards monster territory for the time being. They wouldn't be looking for you there--well. You hoped. You hoped they had assumed you'd be running away from the threat. So you dove straight into the heart of the place. 

 Slowly, monster ran stores began cropping up more frequently. Elegantly built buildings now being infrequented by loudly decorated stores with much more flamboyant personality than anything humans tended to go for. Vividly painted, and well maintained colours assaulted your eyes whenever you dared glance above the ground right before your feet. A few general stores here, a hotel there. You passed by a particularly inviting building you identified as a bar at one point. The sweet torture of tendrils of warmth licking at your freezing limbs. Locked at the joints by a chill that went to the bone. You no longer had any feeling in your arms, and you couldn't even tell if you were moving your fingers when you tried. Since they were stuck out of view under your armpits, and since you could only feel a numb kind of pins and needles sensation from there, you had no way of knowing if your fingers were actually still functional. 

 The smell that carried on the stiff breeze made ignoring the place all the more agonizing. But you forced yourself, making a point to turn your face away from the inviting golden glow spilling softly along the pavement. 

No point in teasing yourself with images of comfort now. 

 With a sense of resolve that felt ready to shatter under the slightest weight, you forced yourself to move on. Making yourself examine pointless, unimportant things to distract yourself from turning back--pursuers be damned. Things you'd never even considered to take notice of--like, uhh, huh. Shit. You took notice of quite a lot actually, in hindsight. You figured that perceptiveness was probably a given when you think about how much taking notice of the little details has saved your neck a great deal of times. You looked at everything, when you had the energy to hold your head up anyway. People, who was wearing what, what kind of status they help. How they walked, was it with pride? Did they look straight ahead as they walked or down to their feet? Would they fight back if you nicked their wallet, or would they even notice at all? Those things, yeah, of course any street rat your age would know. They'd have to, to behave like that. It's what kept you alive at times. Pocket change. 

 But there were other things you took notice of, things that made you... Different, from the run-of-the-mill beggar. Your agility, you had more pathways at your disposal than simple alleyways and easily accessible hiding places. You could climb, leap, jump, you had acrobatics at your beck and call. So long as your limbs didn't give out on you. It was a gift, a skill that you'd ran ragged. As stealthy as you were, as talented as you were at making a petty criminal of yourself. The fact you could always outmaneuver your would-be captors. You always had a way out. No matter how badly things went. 

 Man. That made your situation seem even more depressing. And here you'd been trying to fricking distract yourself. 

 You felt yourself wither even further into yourself as a much larger body collided into yours. It continued unperturbed, whereas the collision sent you teetering forwards at a dangerous angle--but somehow, miraculously, you caught your balance. Despite the fact you'd been almost perpendicular to the ground a second ago. 

 Jeez. You must be more exhausted than you realized. It felt as though someone had actually pulled you upright, but there wasn't even anybody there. You'd felt weightless--obviously from the sensation of falling. 

Weird. 

 Well, it was time to change course anyway. You couldn't hide out in the street forever. 

 Leaving the indistinguishable haze of the marketplace behind you, you swerved a bit too hastily into the closest branching pathway to your left. Earning a harsh titter from whoever you'd inadvertently cut off, but you were a lifetime too beyond caring to turn around and offer a heartfelt apology. 

 Please. Doesn't it look like you had enough on your plate to bother kissing someone's arse? Apparently not. Whatever. Huddling yourself up tighter didn't do much to shut the nipping wind from biting at your ears. And you were quickly losing the shield of hundreds of tight compacted bodies that the crowd had offered you moments before. A nasty loss, and you certainly couldn't linger out in the open here, in such a suddenly much, much less populated area. You had to assume the worst right now. That there were people looking, and they were one step if not all the steps ahead of you. Relaxing just wasn't an option. Not until you had definitive proof that the scope had shifted off of you. 

 Heh, now that's an idea. Maybe you could shift the heat to someone else? Who? You had no idea. It was a plan worth thinking on though. When you'd found a nice hide hole.

 After all the trouble you were going to about this--part of you was starting to hope someone was fucking following you. Better damn be. Well, you'd be very happy if that wasn't the case, but that would still royally suck to think you'd left food behind for nothing. 

 You'd very literally killed for that. A dude had actually died for you to buy that and now that bag of sweet, sugary goodness was lying on the top of some old, dilapidated crummy building. Getting swarmed by the local pigeon population. 

 It took you about two hours in your condition to reach the end of the monster suburbs. In what normally would take you only half that time, if that. You couldn't complain, mind, you were pretty thankful that you hadn't had to resort to crawling at this stage. The cold, hard ground looked so, so very... Comfortable... 

 You hadn't been paying attention to your surroundings as you'd been traversing through the quieter parts of Ebott city. Which was bad, because you'd, at some point, looked up out of your stoopers to realize that you didn't exactly know where you were. You'd barely even noticed the shift in your surroundings, maybe just being somewhat aware of the pavements under your feet becoming steadily less even as you struggled not to get your feet caught on the occasional loose bit of cobblestone. With the development of pretty little housing districts came the poorly maintained neighborhood roads. Too far away from city central to be bothered with you supposed. Shame, because now that you'd bothered to glance about, it was actually quite an attractive little place. Very white-picket-fence kind of area, but charming in its own right. 

 You picked up the pace as much as you could to get the heck out of there. Before one of the neighborhoods residence could spot you wandering their roads and call the boys in blue out to get you for scaring the children. 

 Plodding along in your state though, it still took a while before the last of the dainty little houses saw the back of you. And you swapped away the cracked concrete cobble for the richly fertilized earth bleeding into the cracks. The steep edge of the mountainside beginning at an alarming angle, with grass right up to your knees tickling at the still healing sores on your legs. 

 With a defeated grunt as your legs worked harder to push you up the mountain side. You took a moment to glare at the climb ahead of you, which considering there was so source of natural or artificial light to guide you there wasn't actually that bad looking. Because you couldn't see it. The only thing in front of you was an inky black abyss of gloom, the kind that normal light couldn't penetrate even if you had the means or resources to try. 

 Soon, you were swallowed by the thick overgrowth, and from anyone looking on from behind, you'd completely disappeared into the mountain. Like it was some sort of colossal, dormant beast, lying in wait for foolish people to walk into its gaping maw. 

 Honestly? That's actually what it felt like. 

 Unlike how you'd been in the city. Here, now, you were on high alert. The unfamiliar terrain and the soul crushing darkness had your heart racing at a pace that left you breathless in an already breath stealing hike up the unforgiving terrain. Your eyelids were peeled back wide, and you struggled to remain calm as every single sound in the teeming unknown fought for your attention. Maybe this had been a bad idea? You'd been counting on the difficult ground and the absolutely dreadful visibility to cloak you from any danger that might be looking for you. But you were just as blind yourself. A double edged blade you weren't exactly sure was worth the risk. And the terror of the unfamiliar was driving your poor mind mad. 

Why had you thought this was safe? 

This was insane. You would sooner fall down the damn cliff side stumbling around in the dark like this! 

You should turn back. 

But you kept going.

 Fear was replacing reason now. And you knew it. But your fear for capture was greater than than you fear for anything else. The image of those skeletons--peering at you from the shadows of your own damn home. Leery black eye sockets haunted your vision as a sob wrought its way from your chest as the soft earth crumbled underneath you feet. And you stumbled once more this time though, your face met the earth, hard. And your head snapped backwards from the force of the impact, sending waves of dizzy nausea through your stomach. 

 Pushing yourself up was a challenge, and your arms that threatened to collapse in on you, did. Eliciting a soft 'Oof' from you as you met with the ground once more. 

 This time. You couldn't move to get back up again. You were greedily gasping for air like a fish out of water. Sucking in oxygen that never felt like enough. Spluttering when your breath caught in your throat, wheezing painfully as your body demanded rest. And rest it was going to get. 

 Oh well. Here was as good as anywhere you guessed. Better if you were up in a tree maybe, but you couldn't even stand up anymore. Never mind climb. 

 You felt your protesting muscles finally sag. Turning to a pool of mush as you just seemed to meld further and further into the soil. Eyelids fluttering closed, finally. It was bliss. Even with that stubborn blade of grass tickling up your nostril. You couldn't find it in you to care.

 It was finally quiet. And your heart slowly began to calm. Until your pulse was a nice, thready beat in your throat. And your breathing became deep, and slow. 

 Sleep, however, didn't come. 

 Because even despite your pulse fluttering serenely in your chest. Your mind still registered the sound of footsteps approaching from behind you.

 You couldn't even swivel your gaze to try and investigate the sound.

Even when the soft falling footsteps came to a stop right beside you. 

 Even when a gentle pair of bony hands grazed against your forehead to smooth the hair from your eyes, or when that same pair of hands carefully, tenderly, lifted you from the ground, without even faltering the slightest under your weight. 

Even when your drowsy gaze caught the sight of orange glowing eyes, and a toothy grin of a skeleton monster kindly smiling down at you. 

 Your eyes lolled in their sockets to meet the rest of his face. But all you saw before the black bordering your sight, was a bony finger pressing to his teeth. And then the blackness took over your sight, and you welcomed the sweet oblivion it brought with it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe if our little lady survives, next time we can have a much more detailed insight into what the streets actually look like! And maybe of our poor heroine herself. Really now--we don't even know her name yet. Ah well, it looks like we'll just have to learn along the way together.   
>  Except for me of course, cuz that would be silly. Still though, I'm quite excited to see how people respond to our little ghost. As a walking contradiction that is the human nature, I'm planning big things for her. And I hope you all enjoy those plans.  
>  Anyway, thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed. If you did or even if you didn't, I'd very much appreciate some feedback if you have anything to say.   
>  Welp. Till next time~


	6. Haggling is Stressful at the Best of Times.

It seems as though waking up in a state of disarray was starting to become a trend of some kind as of late. For once again, you found yourself coming out of a hazy kind of daze, like you'd been drifting in an endless void of water and you'd just kinda floated up to the surface. Soundlessly, and with an ease that didn't match the torrent of discomfort that followed it. 

 Your body was...while it didn't hurt quite as bad as it had before. But you felt the ache right down to your bones, everywhere, especially right behind your eyes. And for some reason, the knotted cramp in your spine was nothing compared to the uncomfortable tingling in your shoulders, shooting right down your arms.

 Still too out of it to really connect the dots or question the sound of soft rumbling in your ears. You tried to shift a little on the surprisingly soft surface you were laid on, grumbling in complaint when you found yourself unable to bring your arms around to curl up underneath yourself. Something stubbornly keeping them...tied...behind your back.

 Numbly, you r foggy mind suddenly registered the strange sound of muffled traffic in your pitch black surroundings. Too dark. And the noise or feeling of leather beneath you didn't match the environment you remembered collapsing in. The slight vibrations and occasional jerking on the sturdy surface you were lying on. The unusual feeling of fabric against your eyelashes, and the nasty smell of stale, almost suffocating air trapped in a musk around your face. Your cheek however, was rested on something more solid, propping your head up at an akward angle--explaining the nasty crick you could feel in your neck. Your pillow, which kept tensing and relaxing as the vehicle you now realized you were in, felt oddly like a bony pair of knees.

 Panic surged through you as you forced your breathing to remain steady. Not wanting to give away your conscious state to your captors as you desperately fumbled against your restraints. Only now taking notice of the scratchy feeling of rope digging into the soft flesh at your wrists.

 You had been _kidnapped_.

You were fucking tied up in a strange car and you were blind to whatever they had coming for you! Hell-- you could be anywhere by now. How long had you been out? How long had you been travelling with these loons?!

 "The kid's been out for a while huh?" a voice suddenly broke the relative quiet, and you froze. The ice in your veins actually helping somewhat to keep you as still as possible. Even in your panic, you somehow managed to piece together that playing dead was probably the best choice in the very limited pot you had right about now.

 You felt something roughly kick your foot, but a timely bump in the road concealed your hiss. And you silently thanked your luck and simultaneously cursed the cocky bastard who fucking kicked you. 

 "You're right brother, the small human has been rather... Quiet, s-she hasn't fallen down has she?" another, louder, but oddly more welcomed voice answered. You recognized it belonged to the taller of the two skeletons that had attacked you earlier that... Day? Or yesterday? Either way it was kinda comforting, not much, but anything in your favor was welcome at this point. At least the loud one was a bit less intimidating. But he seemed to be coming from the front end of the vehicle, maybe he was the driver--meaning the culprit who'd just booted you must've been the shorter one. 

Heh, figures he'd be the one on guard duty. But they were brothers were they? Weird, they didn't look all that similar, yknow, other than being skeletons and all. 

 There was a deep sounding chuckle, and the legs under your shoulder shook a little, not that they weren't already. Whatever road you were travelling on wasn't exactly the smoothest under the wheel. "Nah, we just tired her out is all, she's still breathin' alright". 

Psh, like he even gave a damn. The asshole was probably just counting down the minutes on those bony-ass fingers of his to when he could fucking shank you in the neck. You sincerely wanted to doubt the other monster too, but...he didn't strike you as particularly malevolent in nature. There was just something too genuine about the guy. He really did sound worried. 

 Then again, he could just be one of the best liars you'd ever encountered and you should probably be _more_ scared of _him_ than whoever lap you were laying on. 

"She's not moved for quite a while" the taller skeletons voice said, Papyrus, if you remembered right. Which you often did. Having a good head on your shoulders was a pretty good advantage when it came to getting the edge on... Everyone. You think the other one was Sans too, you'd never heard names like theirs before, so they stuck pretty well. That, and since they were trying to kill you, you kinda wanted to be alert to their existence. Shock horror right? God, why hadn't you just pushed yourself just a little further? Found a big fox den or something and hidden better than just sprawling on the forest floor? 

 Even more worrying, how long had these fellas been following you when you thought you'd been safe? Surely they hadn't just come across you that deep in the mountains just by pure coincidence. You refused to believe that. But you weren't exactly sweet on the other idea, the idea that you'd not noticed their presence for god knows how long, lurking and waiting for you to get weak enough to get got. 

 "Well, given the stunt she pulled yesterday and the whole cat-and-mouse game, I'm not surprised she's out for the count". 

 You were about to wonder exactly which stunt the bony bastard was talking about--then you remembered. You'd pulled your ace-in-the hole, to get away. Good lot that'd done you. It'd just made you even more tired. Maybe you should've just to hell with it n fought em both right on that rooftop. Rather than just up and exhausted yourself like gifting the two with yourself on a silver platter. 

 You made a stupid mistake. A really stupid, dumb mistake. Then again, you'd only ever used that trick against humans, when you were being followed by bad eggs on the street or during jobs when things were going too sour. You never thought you'd have to use it against monsters--you knew them and their ways with magic, and you knew they'd probably be wiser to your trick than any human could be. So you made a point to steer away from them and their business unless you were solid on whether you could do the job without it. 

 Heck, you didn't even know how you did it yourself, you just...did. You knew the trigger. _Fear_ , it was fear, when you needed to leave. So badly you'd will yourself to be anywhere but there in that moment. And suddenly--poof, you'd be gone. You'd be damn exhausted, but you'd be out of danger. The more you used it, the more accurate you would get to where you wanted to be instead. But you should've figured that whatever it was, it was something to _not_ let people know you can do. 

 Dammit! Why hadn't you at least gotten outta their sight before vanishing into thin air?! Maybe then they would've just stuck to looking around the slums. 

"I guess you could call this a _kid-napping_ ". You hadn't really been paying attention during your inner mental breakdown, but for some reason, the smaller skeleton talking brought you back to reality. His voice was unnervingly deep. 

"Brother, no" Papyrus said much more sternly than was probably normal. Was he angry? Had something Sans said gotten under his skin--okay, you stopped that train of thought before you finished it. That was an awful choice of phrase. They were skeletons for Christ sake. 

"Heh, I can't help it, this was my dream job". 

 You almost startled again when Papyrus suddenly slammed the breaks and screamed, "SANS!". The monster in question however, didn't even flinch. 

"Gotta say, I'm pretty jealous this kid gets to snooze all day, sleeping comes so naturally to me, I could do it with my eyes closed". 

 "BROTHER YOU ARE INSUFFERABLE!" 

 You would have to agree with that statement. Needless to say, you weren't his biggest fan. 

 "Heheh, a'ight, I know when the joke's over" Sans conceded, and you thought you heard a hum of approval from his brother, but over the engine and the gravel shifting under the car as it drove, you couldn't be sure. You'd begun moving again, that much was certain, but the sound of traffic and beeping horns of the city had trailed off quite a bit. Someone must've opened a window, since a breeze was filtering through the fabric over your face, but it felt cool. And damp, like you were sitting right beside the river, and even through the bag on your head you could still tell it was dark out. And it was all of this you guessed you were somewhere by the lake harbor off near the base of the mountain. It made sense, monsters did tend to clutter together, and you knew their base of operations was somewhere close to their underground headquarters. Everyone knew. So the fact that you were so close to their mountain and getting farther and further away from the normal's and their city streets was quite unsettling. 

 The brothers didn't talk again for a while after that. And in a way, that just made the joyride all the more unbearable. The silence, it stretched out, long and deafening, with only the thought of what these two where gonna do to you being the only company to entertain your thoughts. What if they weren't planning on killing you after all? They said they were allies of that slave trading sonovabitch you'd taken out, w-what if that's what they had in store for you? You didn't know if that was better or worse. Sure, if it was a human family you'd be just swell, you'd be able to get out eventually, but what if it wasn't human services you'd be saddled with? You doubted they'd just happily forget to inform them of your little trick. Then you'd never get out, not without killing a whole bunch of people with eyes already pointed to you. 

 Fuck! This was all so damn screwed--god, you should've just killed these two when you had the chance. 

 A couple of minutes later, the car came to a stop for good. 

 "Alright brother, we've arrived" 

"Let's get this over with" 

"Is the tiny human awake?" 

"Nah, she's still out" 

"Be gentle when handling her Sans" 

"Yeah yeah", you could tell even without looking Sans was waving his brother off. A car door popped open somewhere nearby, and you forced yourself limp as you were pushed off the lap you'd been resting on. The body slipping from under you and out onto the asphalt outside, where someone took in a long breath, before letting it out in a heavy sigh. Then hands were roughly hooked under your armpits, and you were dragged out head first from the back seat. 

 All was going well, you were a dead weight in the guys arms. Perhaps too much of a dead weight. 

 "Ah fuck". 

 The hands under your arms slipped just as your feet smacked against the gravel outside, and the sudden change of balance sent your head slamming into the curb. And the person that had dropped you cursed under his breath. And you had to grit your teeth in pain to stop yourself from yelping, eyes watering as the throbbing behind your eyes intensified. 

 "What was that?" Papyrus asked in a very unimpressed tone. 

 "Sorry bro, I dropped 'er" Sans answered lazily, in a way that told you that he wasn't sorry at all. 

"Sans! I told you to be careful" Papyrus admonished as a second pair of footsteps rushed over to your side. Crunching told you they'd crouched down to meet you, and a considerably gentler pair of hands scooped your torso up from the wet pavement. 

 Then, that same pair of hands yanked the hood off from over your face. And your eyes widened in alarm as they stared like a deer caught in headlight into a pair of furrowed eye sockets. 

 You hadn't expected either of them would have cared enough to fucking check the damages. 

 "Oh! You're awake human!" Papyrus stated bluntly, before his eye sockets crinkled into a smile. "That's good, that fall must have been a terrible way to wake up" he said, giving your wound a quick once over, clicking his tongue as blood came away on his fingers, and you hissed at the sting from the slight pressure. Still a bit dumbfounded from the surprise of having the darkness torn away from your face. The light, the new place, and having a face right in yours had all come at once and all. 

 He seemed to have been waiting for a response, and you dumbly responded, wide eyed and all mousy looking. "U-uh yea?". 

 "Hmm, not to worry, it's not so deep, easily fixed", you guessed this was probably supposed to be comforting, but it really wasn't. Sans seemed similarly off to you, but it was more he was looking at you with a hard glint to his eye rather than the confusion of assault from your senses that you were dealing with. 

 "Sorry bro, we gotta take her to Asgore first" he reminded him, and Papyrus' brow-bones shot up. 

 "Oh right, I almost forgot" Papyrus gasped, before ushering you (and by that you meant lifted) up onto your feet and leading you into a warehouse that you strangely enough, hadn't noticed before. 

 You'd been so focused on the skelebrothers that you'd neglected for a while to take a gander at your surroundings. But now that you were about to be dragged away into the sketchiest looking building you'd ever seen in your life, you realized that you were almost exactly where you'd guessed you would be. Right by the mountain, just off towards the harbor where dealers and allied gangs tended to trade amongst one another in friendlier territory. It was notoriously busy during the day, but it was ghosted at night, so it was the perfect place for any unlawful dealings to go on unnoticed. Far enough away from their real headquarters not to lead the law right to their doorsteps, and easy enough to get too for it to be a nice hot-spot for other affiliated unlawfuls to gather at after hours. Places like this didn't usually sport specific groups for very long, but it was common to find a few regulars mulling around the area, even if they weren't familiar faces. In this kind of lifestyle, it was pretty much a rule of thumb to not be a creature of habit, so specific organizations would often switch out their people present often enough for familiar faces to be a thing of rarity rather than rule. 

 The area you'd stopped outside at was relatively barren on the street side of things, but the inside of the warehouse was a whole nother thing. Monsters of all shapes and sizes all crammed into a small area, talking amongst one another in small social groups. Others using the present stacks upon stacks of storage boxes as tables and chairs to set up card games of all sorts, but there was a lot of movement going on all around, which was something you noticed quickly as you were escorted in through the giant garage-like door that had just been left open all the way. While the street outside was lifeless, the warehouse itself was alive with activity and light.

 The skeletons didn't say anything as you were led towards the back end of the building. Well, nothing to you anyway, they spoke to one another, general comments, nothing really useful. You were more focused on the hustle and bustle around you to be frank. It was a madhouse, and even with you all tied up to your fingertips nobody seemed to bat an eyelid at you, which didn't exactly do much for your nerves. We're prisoners that common a sight for them, were you gonna end up sold to some well off bastard--or were you going to die tonight? 

 Then again, it wasn't all bad. Nobody was paying much attention to you, so maybe you had a chance of slipping away after all. A sharp nudge against your back ribs by the shorter skeleton silenced that train of thought where it stood. 

 Damn, that Sans fellah has some serious grit--there were some people that just... Worked, yknow? Some people could go their whole lives without sending chills up anyone's spine, guys like him, they'd never had that problem. And they fucking knew it.

 You were pushed and pulled throughout a massive maze of storage and monsters of various natures. But the deeper you went into the fray, the sterner the faces got. And the less people were moving about, and it quickly became obvious that this was because these people were on guard for something. They weren't moving like the others by the front entrance, they were much more stern, and they weren't merrily passing time with games and trivial chatter. This was the business end of things, and it was where you were being dragged off deeper into by the second. 

 The monsters you'd seen were all relatively well dressed like the skeletons. Only their outfits were a lot more sensible then most grunts you'd usually see in human outposts. They generally consisted of smart dress pants with work boots and nice looking shirts and the occasional ties, easy to move around in, but that's not why you were paying attention. You weren't gonna lie, you were disappointed that there was one more edge that you didn't have up on these loons, but the tidy appearances told you at least one thing about the group as a whole. They could afford nice clothing, so they evidently were a big syndicate, and successful enough to pay their people well. And with the laid back atmosphere back up front, either they were either really powerful, or they were protected by someone real powerful, one out of the two to be so relaxed in the middle of a hot-spot for less than courteous folk. 

 You all came to a stop when you reached the end of the warehouse maze. A large, fairly tidy clearing had been tidied up to form a crude, but relatively neat looking office. A few boxes stacked up on top of one another to form the shape of a desk, and yet even more for a very uncomfortable looking chair. And on top of said uncomfortable looking chair, was an enormous, very impressive goat monster sat right on it. Dressed in just about the same garb as everyone else around him, but that's where the similarities between him and the other minsters surrounding him ended. 

 The first thing you noticed was the sheer size of the man itself. In stature, he loomed over Papyrus, who was already sporting a good solid 7 feet on his own. He was scarily large, and he was sat down. The horns sitting on top of his furry head only added to his height, though the well trimmed mane adorning the rest of his head, neck, and bleeding into his beard didn't do much to hide his bulky physique. Muscles stretching his shirt taught over his chest and arms, which where covered in brilliant short, white fur, though you could only see his forearms. Since his sleeves where pushed back only so far, but seeing as most of what you could see of him (barring his beard and mane, which were a shaggy brown) it seemed white was this guys primary colour. 

  All in all, the mysterious hulk of a creature was horrifyingly large. And despite his fluffy appearance, he wasn't at all cute or cuddly. There was a regal air to him that the others lacked, it was clear, this guy, this guy was the boss in this house. 

 And also, apparently, this guy was coincidentally, the reason you were here. 

 "Greeting Sir-Boss" Papyrus beamed politely in a very loud, very not-inside voice. Puffing his chest out somehow despite, at least to your knowledge, not having lungs.  

 His brother was less enthusiastic. Simply lazily waving a hand in the goat man's general direction, his eye sockets having closed to the point the monster looked as though he were trying to doze standing up. Nevertheless, he still greeted somewhat pleasantly, "Evenin' Asgore". And tipped the rim of his fedora to the beast of a man. 

 You already didn't like it. These two made you feel so small. So breakable and fragile. And although you'd usually find comfort in being tiny enough to slip through the cracks, but somehow, this time...that logic didn't apply anymore. 

 "Ah, good to see you both are well, I trust you found that little job I sent your way alright?" 

"Indeed, no task is too troublesome for the great Papyrus! Nyeheheh!" 

"Doll gave us quite the run around, kids slippery" 

"Is that right?" 

"Kid didn't go by any names anyone about town knows, found 'er by a chance encounter with muffet, said she knew a face we might be interested in" 

"I see, I'll be sure to send a thanks her way" 

"wouldn't bother boss, I'm sure the cash we lined her pockets with for the info where thanks enough" 

 Something about the goat monster seemed resigned as he deflated, good naturedly or not. And he chuckled again as he wiped a gigantic paw over his eyes and muzzle. "Ah, I should've guessed as much". 

"Yeah, she's quite the gal, still, nothin compared to what this little lady put us through" he said, and you got little to no warning before you were rudely cuffed upside the head. Your only comfort being the scolding tutting he received from his brother as punishment. 

 The monster named Asgore rose a fluffy eyebrow at the display. Before focusing instead on what the skeleton had said. "Hmm, she was that tricky to get hold of?" the large monster hummed thoughtfully, and Papyrus made an unhappy sound, but allowed his brother to continue. "Yea, ran us ragged through the slums, pretty hot on 'er heels this one", you couldn't help but feel smugly pleased by that tidbit. Damn right! You weren't easy, and you were very satisfied to learn these two nightmares agreed with you. They'd been pretty hard to shake loose after all, so you considered that a compliment. 

 Albeit one you wished you hadn't been around to hear. 

 "Well well, my dear, it seems you've given my people quite the runabout" the great monster spoke, finally, and unfortunately, addressing you directly. As though he hadn't just been speaking over and about you as if you hadn't been here the whole damn time. And you cursed the fact that even though there was little threat in his tone, you were quivering in your captors grip like a leaf in windy August. The warmth in that monsters expression was nothing but a lie, just like the lazy grin on the short skeletons flat face. And the way he was smiling at you all friendly like, he was trying to make all that abundantly clear. This song 'n' dance was all for the shits 'n' giggles of it, trying to mess with the silly little humans weak, tiny brain. 

 It made you mad enough to vomit on their shiny shoe polished feet. Part of you would've been happy to do it, if your life wasn't so dependent on their choices. Hell, what you wouldn't give to have seen their names on a slip of crumpled paper, in place of Tannis', granted the smuck deserved what you gave em. But these bastards who were after you over his life, who worked with his kind. Even for criminals, these fellas were of the same sort, shameless, privileged pricks with less human or monster decency from the lot of them than you had in one toe. At least you killed our of need--or something. These people, these monsters, they didn't have reason. 

You didn't know what they had to be frank. But whatever it was, it wasn't good. It was hard to stomach you gad anythin'in common with folk like this, even though on a good day with a clear head you'd admit you had more in common than you would otherwise be comfortable with. It was easier to be angry. Angry at the world, and the hate in it, and the people that stood between you and living another damn day it it. 

And once again, you wished nothing more than to live whatever remained of your pathetic life as a passenger hiding behind your own eyes. If only it were that easy. Or simple. To just switch off whenever you wanted, when it only ever happened when it was all just too much to bear otherwise. Brains way of protecting itself. But it was just all so unfair, because little did your poor worn brain consider, that you felt that way all the time. It was just too bad for you that your brain decided could take just a little more than you'd ever imagine, consciously. 

 The monster Asgore cleared his throat loudly, reminding you that the fella was sat a few pages before you, and was apparently awaiting some form of an answer. But you had none. None that you could think of anyhow, you'd been so lost in your own panic that any talking you _could_ do, was out of your arse. And that was no way to go ahead. Not if you wanted to keep yours. 

 Think, dammit! Think with your brain Ghosty, what do you do in these situations? The only people you'd ever dealt with our of your comfort zone had been thugs, easily outran. And mobsters in general were avoided like the plague, unless you were desperate. And even then it'd been minimal contact at best, to keep the animosity in check. Truth be told, you didn't have a clue in the slightest how best to proceed in situations like this, and these folks being monsters only added to the layer of uncertainty of the situation as a whole. 

 So, you trued to focus on what you did know. Little of it as it was. Firstly, you'd killed a guy, a guy involved in shady business of the mobster sort, and a notorious active member of the slave trade. The guy in question, as Sans had so delicately pitched it, had been buddies with this Asgore guy and his gang, and...wanted to get revenge? Maybe, fitted right, but part of you doubted that a small fish like you would've been dragged to meet the big boss just to make a point. Maybe beaten hallways to Friday, raped, dismembered and scattered across town, but definitely not graced with the high n mighty himself. 

 So what else could this guy want? 

 Then it clicked, just as the big guy in question pushed his chair back with a high pitched scrape of wood meeting metal. You were the only one that winced. 

 The only thing that you had to offer, but your life. Information. 

 Information on who'd set you up for the gig in the first place. It all made sense, it was pretty evident to anyone with eyes and half a brain to see you weren't part of any big group or anything of the sort. But a gal like you on appearance just doesn't go out deciding to top a guy like Tannis out of the blue. Someone had to put someone up to something in these kinda scenarios, it only makes sense the other party involved would wanna know who that someone was. 

 Coming clean wasn't exactly a very appealing option even so though. Knowing what they wanted was a start, but spilling the beans on another mob boss, and without any protection from a group or anything? You'd be a sitting duck, a frayed knot that the fella you tattled on would definitely wanna snip short as soon as the threat of a snitch even broached the surface. As was always the case when dealing with criminals of this caliber, but a lot more threatening when the heat was getting hot. And this, if this wasn't hot then you'd hate to see it get hotter. 

 After a while of your unresponsiveness, it seemed Asgore grew tired of your silence. 

 "So then, little lady, I assume you must be mighty confused about me and my people dragging you down here" he began in an authorive boom of a voice, suddenly his tone which had a moment ago been light and friendly, was thunderous and commanding. As his face settled into a businesslike frown. 

The large goat-looking monsters face was stern, and his voice booming and deep. "And to that, I say to you, it's actually a rather interesting story Miss, you see, an associate of mine, you may have heard of him actually, he passed away as of recently" 

 _Oho i know him alright_. 

"I'm afraid I dunno what you're talkin' about mister" you lied, blatantly and smooth as you could in spite of the circumstances. Making a point to look the fuzzy giant square in the eye as you spoke, even if your eyes were wide with alarm and fear. 

 He didn't seem convinced in the slightest. Something akin to disappointment flashing in his knowing eyes as he resigned to the fact that you weren't gonna play ball right off the bat. "Tannis Harvey, was his name, someone, it seems, had decidedly cut his life a little short" he continued as if you hadn't spoken. Sans tightened his grip on your shoulder. 

_And I enjoyed every fucking second of it._

"I don't know nothing about anybody getting hurt" 

_He deserved to die._

"I just wanna go home, i don't want any trouble with you sir, just let me loose, I won't tell anybody" 

 _You **all** deserve to die!_  

"Please" 

_All of you! Making your fortunes on people who don't have nothing in the world!_

"Now, child, why would I do that?" 

_How dare you treat my life as if its nothing! I've worked so hard, I want to live! I refuse to die here._

 Huh. Why _would_ he do that? "Because you're a good upstanding gentleman?" you tried, but it sounded more like you were asking him that than anything 

 The large monster chuckled quite pleasantly at that, a nice sound, but that didn't make anything about this better. His great shoulders shook as he laughed, eyes crinkling in an oddly warm way for someone who was almost definitely planning on where to hide your poor mangled body when he and his men finished with you. 

 "My, what a flattering comment, human girl" he said, his tone had turned light, for a moment, then it was gone. "But that will not help your position I'm afraid". 

"I don't think you've been entirely truthful with me, human".

 Damn. 

 He looked at you for a moment, like he was waiting for you to say something, but you just stubbornly eyeballed him right back. 

 He sucked in a breath. "Sans".

 The skeletons sprang into action like he'd been jolted awake from a nap by hungry wild dogs. Fishing out a surprisingly neat looking notepad from somewhere in his pants with his free hand, Papyrus did very much the same. Though he pulled his pad from a pocket hidden under his vest shirt. "We don't got any info on'er _before_ the hit, its like she didn't even exist, no-one on the street knows anythin' about her, but we did heh, _convince_ the guy who paid 'er for the job to give us 'er general description, asked around to see if anyone'd seen her about, from there we tracked her down to where a few of our people had spotted someone who matched her to the T"

Papyrus chimed in, "That's how we got the idea to ask our contact Muffet, of course we had been keeping an eye on her for a few weeks beforehand", weeks?! They'd been tracking you for that long? "With Miss Muffet being in the area, we thought perhaps her spiders might've had some information to confirm her identity". 

 The shorters skeleton nodded. "We didn't get much, but what we did get was evidence to correlate the little lady's visits always corresponding to a murder, including the murder of one Mister Tannis" Sans finished, and Papyrus closed the little notebook in his hand with a satisfying thud. 

 The shorter brother shrugged, "Plus her stats are pretty impressive for a supposedly innocent street rat". 

 "Sans!" 

 "What? Her LV is higher than both of ours combined" 

 "That's not what I was talking about and you know it--" 

 "Interesting, so you're positive this human is responsible?" Asgore politely interrupted the brothers, and Sans was the one to turn away from the taller brothers scolding to answer. 

"Wouldn't have brought 'er here if we weren't" Sans drawled, stuffing his free hand into his pants and rocking on his heels. Asgore seemed satisfied at that. 

 "Well young lady, I'm afraid your actions have put me and my people at a  disadvantage, that man that you killed was our ticket to taking out a significant number of troublesome persons related to Tannis and his... Unfortunate choices in trade". 

 Wait. What? 

 Unfortunately, those exact words also ended up spilling from your mouth. 

 "Yes, I have no doubt you're surprised, but the fellow you killed was involved in some rather unpleasant business involving both human and monster trafficking. You, my dear, singlehandedly threw a wrench in my plans to root all those connected to it out". 

 Yeah, you were indeed surprised. So these guys weren't as friendly with Tannis after all? That would be good news, if you hadn't unwittingly stepped on the toes of a would-be criminal monster vigilante. You could have laughed, or cried at your stupid luck. 

 Well, if it wasn't revenge they were after, maybe you had a chance to get outta this? 

 "So now begs the question, human, who exactly put you up to this? I'd like to know, and I can assure you that it is in your best interest that you do not put a hold on my affairs another time" Asgore smiled, which was a vast contrast to his threatening demeanor, it was as though a dark fog had suddenly begun forming in a miasma around him. 

 You sucked in a shaky breath. You didn't see a way out of this that involved keeping you anonymity. He had taken that option from right under you. 

 So, it was for that reason, among a plethora of others--fear included, that you nodded, taking a moment to force the breath you'd been holding from your lungs. And you quietly answered, "I dunno his name Mister, but I know his face, he's doing a stint in jail now, his man hired me". 

 "You took a job without knowing his name?" Asgore pried, skepticism clear to hear in his voice. You shrugged. 

"I _asked_ not to know, less I know less I can tell, less reasons to shut me up" you answered honestly, shifting your arms as much as you could into a more comfortable position behind your back. Wincing as the rope dug more into the flesh of your bony wrists. 

 "I see" the great monster breathed, a look of understanding flashing in his eyes, before it was wiped away to something harder to read. 

 There was something you didn't like about the dismissive way he was starting to look at you. 

 "W-wait" you blurted out abruptly. Just as Asgore began to raise his hand, maybe to wave you away. You didn't give him the chance to find out, instead desperately clinging to his attention as you began to feel Sans tugging at your shoulder, Papyrus however, remained rooted to the spot. Providing adequate anchorage that you yourself wouldn't have been able to provide. 

 It was time to haggle for you life. 

 "I didn't mean to put a foot in your business mister, I just needed the money is all, I don't work for nobody, I swear" 

"Oh don't worry about that my dear, its perfectly understandable, now, Sans, would you mind deali--" 

"No--look, I'm a pretty in demand gal, if you'd have me, I-I could work for you, to apologies for the mess?" 

 The grand monster paused. But his eyes flashed with interest. That was a good sign, you hoped. 

 You continued to talk out of your ass, hastily keeping the monsters interest on you. Any sense of dignity flying out the window as you hastily begged for your life. 

   "I really didn't mean to step on any toes, please, don't write me off, I can get into places none of your monster people can touch! I can help, I, I can...I don't wanna die", your voice cut into a broken sob as you trembled in the skeletons combined grip. And you spied a glance at the friendlier of the two, Papyrus, only to find the look on his skeletal face to be that of deep discomfort. 

 The goat monster was silent for a moment. He didn't look too happy either. Not exactly the whole sneering, jeering mob-boss kinda act you'd been expecting really. In fact, he looked almost taken aback by your whole speech, and if you'd been any less observant you might not have noticed. But you couldn't begin to figure why that was. Or why this larger monster looked almost...sad.

"...I'll give you three weeks, a trail period of sorts, and if you prove useful, you will work permanently and exclusively for me" he decided, apparently on the spot after giving you a once-over, much to your both shock and relief. Well, sure he hadn't exactly _said_ that he'd been planning to kill you off, but you'd read between the lines. A small act of mercy, while not expected, was very well appreciated. 

"Are you sure that's a good idea boss?" Sans questioned a bit apprehensively, and now that you didn't have to worry about him sticking you like a pig, you wondered to what relationship these two skeletons had with this Asgore fellow to be speaking so openly to him. 

 The large monster shot the skeleton a knowing look, and a small smirk flashed across his furry muzzle, "if it isn't, then I trust you are up to dealing with it" he responded smartly, raising a single furry brow to him in question. 

 He didn't look too pleased, but he sighed, and nodded, "... Yeah, boss". 

"Perfect, oh, and Sans, Papyrus? She doesn't leave your sight, period". 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's super late so it's longer than usual, woooo! Asgore did a nice thing, he pressed Mercy! Joking, but he did do a good so thankyou ya fluffy bastard! Our nameless little Ghost seems to be doing well, she's not dead yet. So progress.  
>  I'm going to bed now. So. Very. Tired. 
> 
> Hope ya enjoyed reading and thanks for doing so, comment welcome yaddayadda, till next time~


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